health care

Race Car Driver Blaney Heralds Importance Of Early Alzheimer's Detection


 

Promoting the importance of early detection in Alzheimer’s disease treatment, race car driver Ryan Blaney gets personal about the illness in a PSA campaign launching today from the Ad Council, in partnership with NASCAR and the Alzheimer’s Association.

In  :60 and :30 spots created by North Carolina’s Clutch Studios, Blaney calls himself a “third-generation race car driver” proud to "follow in the tracks" of his “Grandpa Lou" -- who was eventually diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. “It’s important to notice if older family members are acting differently, experiencing problems with their memory, or having trouble with routine tasks,” Blaney says.

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“Talk about seeing a doctor together,” Blaney concludes, as a visual advises viewers to visit ALZ.org/TimeToTalk.

The PSAs will run on TV, radio, and digital across the country, including donated media from NASCAR.

The TimeToTalk website includes resources to help families recognize the early warning signs, tips for facilitating conversations about cognition, and a discussion guide for use with doctors and health providers.

The Ad Council and the Alzheimer’s Association back up the campaign’s messaging with results of a survey conducted in the fourth quarter of 2022 showing the need for more education.  While more than 6 million Americans currently have the disease, only 27% of people with older loved ones at risk for developing Alzheimer’s are very likely to consider Alzheimer’s as a possibility if they notice signs of cognitive decline; only 38% would be very likely to talk to their family member about those changes; and only 42% would talk to the person about going to the doctor.

Blaney, who founded The Ryan Blaney Foundation in 2018 to support causes that personally impact his family, lost his grandfather to Alzheimer’s in 2009.

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