(Business Wire)  Samsung Electronics America, Inc., a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, today announced an official national partnership and the start of the Heart Across America cycling tour. Kicking off Sunday in Palo Alto, Calif., Heart Across America is a cross-country bicycle ride, with events in 14 cities and more than 5,000 miles of cycling, aimed at increasing awareness on how to prevent heart disease and stroke. In addition to raising life-saving funds for the America Heart Association, the ride includes demonstrations of ultrasound carotid artery scans, provided by Samsung Health and Medical Equipment (HME).

According to the American Heart Association, direct and indirect costs of cardiovascular diseases and stroke total more than $320.1 billion. That includes health expenditures and lost productivity. Heart disease and stroke kill nearly 800,000 Americans every single year, yet nearly 80% of all strokes and heart attacks could be prevented. The American Heart Association, who is partnering with Heart Across America, has recommended guidelines and measures of prevention for people at risk of stroke.

Samsung HME will be actively involved in Heart Across America tour stops by demonstrating the capabilities of ultrasound technology in detecting stroke using the Samsung HM70A, Samsung’s high-end, portable ultrasound system featuring the latest in advanced imaging technology incorporated in a compact laptop format.

"We are proud to sponsor Heart Across America and support the American Heart Association and Sean Maloney in their nationwide campaign to increase awareness about the importance of early detection in stroke prevention,” said Doug Ryan, Group Vice President for Health and Medical Equipment at Samsung Electronics America. "Our support underscores our continued commitment to supporting innovation in healthcare to improve the quality of patient care and outcomes.”

Sean Maloney, a former Intel executive, thought he was invincible. Despite his healthy lifestyle, in 2010 a blocked artery led to a stroke that wiped out virtually all of his abilities – to write, to speak (aphasia), and paralyzed the right side of his body. Determined to recover, he regained his abilities to speak and move and started Heart Across America in an effort to save others from the trauma of stroke and heart disease. Along the way, he will be joined by other corporate executives, friends and supporters as he cycles from Palo Alto to New York City in an 86-day period.

“Too many people needlessly lose their lives to heart attacks and strokes that could have been prevented,” said Maloney. “We are grateful to have Samsung and their ultrasound systems on board the Heart Across America tour to increase awareness for the capabilities of ultrasound technology in detecting stroke.”

For more information about Heart Across America, including the tour schedule and how you can support Sean Maloney in his ride, please visit http://www.heartacrossamerica.org/.

To learn more about Samsung Electronics’ healthcare division, its subsidiaries and products, please visit http://www.samsung.com/healthcare.

About Samsung Business

As a global leader in enterprise mobility and information technology, Samsung provides a diverse portfolio of enterprise technologies including smartphones, wearables, tablets, digital displays, hospitality TVs, printers and medical diagnostic equipment. We are committed to putting the business customer at the core of everything we do by delivering comprehensive products, solutions and services across diverse industries including retail, healthcare, hospitality, education and government. Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA) and Samsung Business is committed to helping customers realize the promise of a digital business. For more information, please visit samsung.com/business, call 1-866-SAM-4BIZ or follow Samsung Business via Twitter @SamsungBizUSA.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies, redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, cameras, digital appliances, printers, medical equipment, network systems, and semiconductor and LED solutions. We are also leading in the Internet of Things space through, among others, our Smart Home and Digital Health initiatives. We employ 307,000 people across 84 countries with annual sales of US $196 billion. To discover more, please visit our official website at www.samsung.com and our official blog at global.samsungtomorrow.com