American Heart Association celebrates 25 years of lives saved at the Oak Brook Heart Walk
The American Heart Association is celebrating 25 years of lives saved at the Metro Chicago Heart Walk in Oak Brook on Saturday, Sept. 21.
To mark the 25th anniversary of the Heart Walk in Chicago, the Heart Association will host a family-friendly fitness festival, including a 1- or 3-mile walk and special stations set up on the grounds that highlight fun ways to get healthy.
The walk will be held from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Advocate Kensington Support Center at 1400 Kensington Road in Oak Brook.
Additional walks will take place on Friday, Sept. 20, at Soldier Field in Chicago and Sunday, Sept. 22, at Medline Industries in Northfield.
This year's Metro Chicago Heart Walks are chaired by Alex Gourlay, co-chief operating officer for Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., and Ranndy Kellogg, president and CEO of Omron Healthcare, Inc.
Through the walks, the American Heart Association hopes to raise more than $3 million to fund medical research and community in that fight heart disease and stroke, the nation's number 1 and number 5 killers.
Activities at this year's Metro Chicago Heart Walks will include spin bikes, yoga and Zumba classes, a mediation station, giant hopscotch and activities for children.
Walkers also will have the opportunity to pay tribute to loved ones who have been affected by heart disease and stroke.
Since the start of the Heart Walk in 1994, mortality rates from cardiovascular disease and stroke in the US have dropped by nearly 45 percent. While incredible progress has been made, disparities in health outcomes still exist. Chicago has the largest life expectancy gap in the country: residents of Streeterville have a life expectancy of 90 years old, while residents of Englewood, just ten miles away, have a life expectancy of just 60 years old.
The Metro Chicago Heart Walks are generously supported by local sponsors Omron and Walgreens; with additional support provided by Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Bank of America, ADP, Advocate Aurora Health, and Medline Industries.
For more information on the walks, visit www.MetroChicagoHeartWalk.org.
The American Heart Association is devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke - the two leading causes of death in the world. We team 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 association is the nation's oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. Visit www.heart.org.