This month on September 28, hundreds will gather at Cal State Channel Islands’ El Dorado Park to participate in the 2019 Ventura County Heart & Stroke Walk. Hosted by The American Heart Association, the Heart Walk is among 300 Heart Walks held in communities across the nation with the mission to fund research to cure heart disease and stroke.
“We all know someone whose life has been affected by heart disease or stroke,” says 2019 Heart Walk Chair Jennifer Swenson, President of Adventist Health Simi Valley. “By supporting the American Heart and Stroke Association, you are not only impacting your health, but the health of your loved ones and community members.”
For the past 25 years, nearly 1 million Heart Walk participants have stepped out each year to support efforts to cure heart disease and stroke. Since the walk’s inception, mortality rates from cardiovascular disease and stroke have plummeted by 45%.
Each time someone laces up their shoes or forms a team to participate in the Heart Walk, they are instrumental in innovative breakthroughs. Every donation helps create new technologies, such as the artificial heart valve, cholesterol drugs, stents and the mechanical heart pump, which helps extend the life of patients.
Each walker and each donation has helped to transform health statistics into lives saved, but there is more work to be done. Each day, about 2,150 Americans die from heart disease from cardiovascular disease—the No. 1 killer in the United States. Stroke, the No. 5 killer and a leading cause of severe disability, claims the lives of nearly 219,000 each year.
The world’s leading voluntary health organization dedicated to building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke, The American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association have funded $3.4 billion in research over the past 25 years. But the work is far from done. The American Heart Association is nearing the $5 billion mark as they aim to fund big ideas to pioneer breakthroughs in the understanding and treatment of heart disease and stroke.
The Heart Walk is open to the community as all are welcome to participate and change the story of heart disease and stroke in Ventura County. Those who walk are committed to funding research that keeps hearts beating. Local sponsors include Amgen, Adventist Health Simi Valley, Raypak, Bank of America, Proctor & Gamble, UCLA Health, ZS, The Port of Hueneme, Community Memorial Health System and Kaiser Permanente.
Individuals and teams can register online at VenturaHeartWalk.org.
The American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke—the two leading causes of death in the world. Teaming with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies, and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat these diseases, the Dallas-based AHA is the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. To learn more or to get involved, call 1.800.AHA.USA1 or visit Heart.org.
