Out of a Personal Tragedy, Holly Morrell Saves Lives with Heartfelt

Holly is a pioneer of the grassroots cardiac screening industry, a life saver, and a Southern California local who has been recognized as the KNX Hero of the week and an Inspirational Women Award recipient.

Beginning in 1999, Morrell established a grassroots community screening effort for the general public cardiac industry. She has over 23 years of experience in screening children, student-athletes, and adults throughout the country. Morrell’s previous screening program became the “largest player” in the U.S., as reported by the Wall Street Journal in 2005. To date, Holly Morrell has provided cardiac screenings to over 55,000 people. She has now saved over 1,000 lives!

Heartfelt provides comprehensive cardiac evaluations, in the form of affordable, community-based cardiac screenings, to provide early detection to as many people as possible. This type of screening can typically create a huge financial burden for families. Morrell’s nonprofit organization Heartfelt offers this screening to the general public for a small donation or free of charge whenever possible.

FWM: A tragic death led you to launch Heartfelt. Share your story. 

My desire to provide community service and launch my Heartfelt efforts started with the tragic loss of six of my own family members.

What makes my work personal is my family’s legacy of sudden death. Six of my family members have been lost to Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), the #1 cause of Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) in young people in the U.S. Nine Morrell family members, out of 11, had the disease; 6 died, and 2 live with devices implanted in their chests to protect them from sudden death. In 2010, another family member became the second Morrell Family member to receive a heart transplant to save her life. I was diagnosed with the condition in 2002, after running a cardiac screening program for three years.

Out of tragedy, I have dedicated my life to saving other people’s lives from the nation’s number one killer: sudden cardiac death. I established Heartfelt to better serve the general public and preserve the integrity of my mission: to save more lives through early detection, education, and increased public awareness. My number one mission is to warn people who might be at risk.

I survived emergency open-heart surgery by only 90 seconds in 2012 and had my seventh heart-related surgery in April 2019. I live with a heart disease that can kill, but if detected early, can be survivable, and I will stop at nothing to save lives.

Additionally, the story of young Scotty, who died while practicing football at Fountain Valley High School in 1999, sparked my interest in community-based cardiac screenings. As a family who had already lost five members to our genetic heart condition, we knew that Scotty’s death may have been prevented through cardiac screening. My dad initially reached out to the Lang family, and within 30 days, we screened 500 kids at the high school.

In 2019, we had the honor of returning to Fountain Valley High School to mark the 20th anniversary of Scotty’s passing and 20 years of providing cardiac screening. It was a magical day for sure! We were joined by many Lang family members, community members wearing their Scotty Lang Day ribbons from 20 years ago, and some of the original techs and volunteers who had screened with us for the first time back in 1999.

We protected two young boys that day, brothers who both had potentially life-threatening conditions identified by our screening efforts. There were lots of tears on this special anniversary, some sad, but mainly tears of joy!

FWM: In 2021, Heartfelt reached an incredible milestone, having screened a total of 55,000 adults and children. How do you feel about touching so many hearts? 

I am certainly proud of my Heartfelt accomplishments and extremely grateful to all those who have helped along the way.  Personally, I feel it not only a blessing but an absolute privilege as well.  I believe my own life was spared so I could save others!

FWM: The cornerstone of Heartfelt is early detection, education, and increased public awareness. Tell us about resources your organization offers and Heartfelt at Home Screening.

Heartfelt is a nonprofit organization, 501c3, dedicated to saving lives from sudden cardiac arrest through early detection, education, and increased public awareness. Our goal is to provide cardiac screening to as many people as possible through our unique screening offerings. We started with our community-based screenings, but with recent pivoting, we now have several other ways to accommodate the public.

If individuals are unable to attend our community screenings or prefer one of our other programs, we invite them to explore our other offerings, which include:

• Heartfelt at Home: a luxurious and personalized screening experience from the comfort of your own home.
• Heartfelt in Office: a private screening option conducted in a designated office space.
• Heartfelt at Work: a program designed for corporate screenings for both employers and employees.

We believe that everyone should have access to our early detection programs, no matter where they are or what their schedule allows.

All options are currently in the process of being offered nationally.

FWM: Your New Spokesperson is Kansas State Ballplayer, Keytontae Johnson. Tell us about your partnership.

Keyontae’s story is miraculous, and we are honored to partner with him. He is helping us raise awareness by sharing his inspiring story, which brings a strong message of hope. He has also started fundraising for Heartfelt to support screenings and for us to work together to place AEDs in public venues in communities that have significant meaning to him. We have already saved a life together and will continue to make a powerful impact through our combined efforts.

FMM: What is your mission for Heartfelt in 2023?

Our mission for Heartfelt in 2023 is to save more lives. We plan to expand our reach beyond California and collaborate with like-hearted individuals across the country to provide more screenings and increase awareness about the importance of early detection of cardiac issues.

Thank you for sharing my story and allowing me to share my passion and Heartfelt work. We hope that our message has inspired some to join us in our mission to provide cardiac screening to as many people as possible. With support, we can continue to make a difference and save lives from sudden cardiac arrest.

www.heartfeltscreening.org