More than 200 walkers turned out at Blue Marsh Lake on Sunday, Oct. 19 for the Berks County Heart & Stroke Walk. The walk aimed to raise funds and awareness to support the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association’s mission to fight heart disease and stroke. Donations for the 2014 Berks County Heart & Stroke Walk will be accepted until Nov. 30, online at www.heart.org/lehighberkswalk or by calling 610-867-0583.
More than 20 workplace and community teams including East Penn Manufacturing, EnerSys, Schneider Electric and Lehigh Valley Business Coalition on Health Care kicked off the walk on a 1.5 mile loop around Blue Marsh Lake.
The walk was led by the 2014 child chairs, heart defect survivor sisters Aubrey and Brielle Huff, of Breinigsville. Aubrey, now 5-years-old, was diagnosed with an atrioventricular canal defect when she was just 3-days-old. Her congenital heart defect prevented her from growing, eating and breathing like a normal newborn. At 2-months-old she underwent heart surgery to repair the defect and recovered from her symptoms almost immediately. Her younger sister, Brielle, now 3-years-old, surprised doctors when she was diagnosed with the same congenital heart defect during a fetal echocardiogram. Just like her sister, she has thrived after receiving her heart surgery at 15-months-old.
Dollars raised by the American Heart Association through events like the Heart and Stroke Walk fund cardiovascular disease research, as well as public and professional programs and advocacy. The American Heart Association’s 2020 Impact Goal is to improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20 percent while reducing deaths from cardiovascular diseases and stroke by 20 percent by the year 2020.
For more information about the event, visit www.heart.org/lehighberkswalk.
About Heart WalkEach day, nearly 2,300 Americans die from a cardiovascular disease, an average of one death every 38 seconds. A leading risk factor for heart attack and stroke is lack of physical activity. Heart Walk is the American Heart Association’s signature fundraising event, promoting physical activity and heart healthy living in a fun family environment. By promoting a healthy culture, everyone can walk towards a healthier lifestyle and fight the greatest health threat to the United States.
About the American Heart Association
Founded in 1924, we are the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary health organization dedicated to building healthier lives, free of heart disease and stroke. To help prevent, treat and defeat these diseases – America’s No. 1 and No. 4 killers – we fund cutting-edge research, conduct lifesaving public and professional educational programs, and advocate to protect public health. For more information about the American Heart Association, visit www.heart.org.
