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Episode 87 Our Guest: Stran Smith 2025 'Draft Pick' for Abbott HeartMates Program
Stran is a legendary tie-down roping cowboy from Childress, Texas. He competed professionally for over 20 years, appearing 11 times at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR), and won the PRCA World Championship in 2008. In 2025 he was inducted into the rodeo Hall of Fame. 

In this episode, Stran shares his incredible journey from being a professional cowboy to overcoming a life-altering stroke. He discusses the challenges of co-authoring a book, his involvement with the Abbott HeartMates Program and the importance of community support during any type of heart or Health related recovery. Stran emphasizes the significance of connection and encouragement for stroke survivors and highlights the HeartMates program as a vital resource for those facing similar challenges. His story is one of resilience, purpose, and the unwavering belief that there is hope and light ahead if you don’t give up.

More on his stroke: At age 32 he suffered a stroke caused by a previously undetected patent foramen ovale (PFO)—a small opening between the upper chambers of the heart. Doctors initially told him he’d likely never ride again.  He underwent PFO closure using the Abbott Amplatzer Occluder, which enabled his remarkable return to competition and eventual world championship.

Abbott HeartMates: In May 2025, Abbott introduced Stran as one of its newest “HeartMates”—heart health champions who share inspiring stories of recovery and resilience. Learn more about Abbott's HeartMates Program and community. https://www.abbott.com/corpnewsroom/healthy-heart/as-abbott-hear

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Show credits:
Music intro credit to Jake Dansereau. Our intro welcome is the voice of Caroline Goggin, a stroke survivor and our first podcast guest! Please listen to her inspiring story on Episode 2 of the podcast.

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David Dansereau Know Stroke Podcast

The Know Stroke Podcast is presented by co-hosts Mike Garrow (stroke caregiver) & David Dansereau (stroke survivor). Listen back to Episode 1 of the podcast to hear our personal stories of how stroke impacted our lives and sparked a mission to amplify the voices, contributions, and achievements of change makers in stroke care.

Our Mission: Empowering stroke survivors and their care teams to take control of life after stroke.

Co-Hosts Profiles:
David Dansereau is a stroke survivor and the founder of Know-Stroke.org - a community for patients with stroke and PFO. His story was featured in the NY Times.
A licensed physical therapist, nutritionist, and clinical PT consultant, David has a keen interest to explore the intersection of stroke rehabilitation and digital therapeutics to expand the reach of post stroke therapy and improve patient outcomes. He is a CAPS (Certified Aging in Place) certified specialist and is the founder of SmartMovesPT a digital health and rehab tech consulting company based in Rhode Island.
David is also an Amazon best selling author with the publication of his preventive medicine book, Body in Balance.
Michael Garrow grew up as a caregiver for his mother who had a stroke at age 28. He earned his graduate degree from Griffith College Dublin and spent the early stage of his career in Dublin, Ireland working in the health tech space as a market research analyst and then moving into a wellness start-up. Michael currently resides in NYC working as a Senior Digital Product Manger with CVS Health.