American Heart Association
The American Heart Association grew out of a set of smaller precursor groups. The primary precursor was the Association for the Prevention and Relief of Heart Disease, formed in New York City in 1915, to study whether patients with heart disease could safely return to work. Several similar organizations formed or evolved in Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago in the 1920s. Recognizing the need for a national organization to share research and promote findings, the American Heart Association was formed in 1924 by six cardiologists representing several of these precursor groups.
Stroke Association
The Stroke Association was formed in 1992 out of the Chest, Heart and Stroke Association (CHASA), to focus exclusively on stroke. The preceding decades had seen the development of community based rehabilitation programs based on the work of Valerie Eaton Griffiths with actress Patricia Neal – wife of author Roald Dahl - following her series of severe strokes in the 1960s. Supported by the CHASA, these services became an increasingly significant part of their work until the charity decided to focus all of its attention and resources on stroke to become the Stroke Association.