DAYTON — The American Heart Association, the world’s leading voluntary health organization dedicated to building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke, and Kettering Health Network are hosting the 2018 Greater Dayton Heart Walk and Run, an event that has been instrumental in innovative breakthroughs over the last 25 years.
Since the inception of the Heart Walk, mortality rates from cardiovascular disease and stroke have plummeted by 45 percent. Each walker and each donation has helped to transform health statistics into lives saved, but there is more work to be done.
The event is among 300 Heart Walks held in communities across the nation. Nearly 1 million people walk each year for a singular mission, to cure heart disease and stroke. This year the event will be held on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018, at Fifth Third Field in downtown Dayton. Registration and a health and wellness expo will begin at 7:30 a.m. with the walk and timed run kicking off at 9:15 a.m. New this year is Miracle Lap at 9:30 a.m. for participants that want to walk a shorter route around the concourse.
“The Heart Walk is still focused on its initial assignment, funding groundbreaking research through the passion of walking together to change lives,” said Richard Manchur, president of Southview Medical Center and the 2018 Heart Walk chair. “I am honored to serve and play a role in the promise of a better future for younger generations to live.”
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.
“The American Heart Association has carved a place in the history of health by saying yes to progressing lifesaving science,” said Manchur. “The science of how we respond to heart disease and stroke has progressed tremendously. With a new generation lacing up their shoes to participate in the Heart Walk, I am excited to see the big solutions to come.”
Each day, about 2,150 Americans die from heart disease — the number one killer in the United States. Stroke, the number five killer and a leading cause of severe disability, claims the lives of nearly 219,000 each year.
The Heart Walk is open to the community and all are welcome to participate and change the story of heart disease and stroke in the Miami Valley. Those who walk are committed to funding research that keeps hearts beating.
“What makes our company passionate about walking is that the funds raised go to fueling hearts. Real human anatomical hearts,” said Derek Kirby of Dayton Freight. “What our Heart Walk team knows is that gratification isn’t about what you get when you give. It is about the satisfaction of knowing that your dollar isn’t going in a back pocket. Your dollar is going to change a life.”
Over the past 25 years the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association have funded $3.4 billion in research. But the work is far from done. The American Heart Association is nearing the $5 billion mark as we work to fund big ideas to pioneer breakthroughs in our understanding and treatment of heart disease and stroke.
The Greater Dayton Heart Walk/Run Healthy for Good sponsor is Kettering Health Network. CPR sponsor is Dayton Freight. Local sponsors are Booz Allen Hamilton, Premier Health, LexisNexis, CompuNet Clinical Laboratories, CycleBar and Shumsky/Boost Engagement. Media sponsors are Fox 45, ABC 22, B 94.5, and Mix 107.7. Individuals and teams may register by logging on to www.heart.org/DaytonWalk. For more information, call Candice Eldridge at 937-401-4869.
