The Larry King Cardiac Foundation Helps Tanya Cunningham

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The Larry King Cardiac Foundation finances lifesaving cardiac procedures for people who because of limited means and no insurance would otherwise be unable to get the treatment they need. The organization teams up with top hospitals, which are compensated only for the materials used, and leading surgeons, who waive their fees.

King, the CNN talk show host, started the foundation in 1988, a year after his own heart attack and quintuple bypass surgery. The foundation has helped more than 800 heart patients who received lifesaving treatment. Another 5,000 people have been screened for heart disease. The total value of procedures funded to date is $12 million.

"What motivated me to start the foundation was a simple thing," King recalls. "I was sitting around with a bunch of friends about a year after my heart surgery. Someone asked what it cost, and I said I didn't know because insurance had paid for it. So I got to thinking, 'What about people who don't have insurance?'"

King now considers the foundation one of his proudest achievements. "There's no bigger satisfaction than knowing I helped someone," he says. "That's bigger than getting awards or interviewing presidents."

The foundation helps people who lack financial resources or insurance to pay for cardiac care and don't qualify for government health insurance such as Medicaid or Medicare. In other words, working people who have fallen through the cracks in the health insurance system.

For financial help with a heart procedure or to make a donation to the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, visit the foundation's Web site at lkcf.org or call 866/302-5523.