The Southeast Michigan American Heart Association is set to host the Detroit Heart Walk on May 20 at 8 a.m. at Wayne State University. The walk is free, and participants are encouraged to register.
Events like the Heart Walk help raise the necessary funds to continue life-saving research and education. The walk features a timed 5K, kid’s zone, fitness activities and family friendly entertainment.
“Our goal is to improve cardiovascular health by 20 percent and reduce the number of deaths from cardiovascular diseases and stroke by 20 percent by the year 2020,” said Beth Collins, Detroit Heart Walk Vice President. “Getting people active is one way that we are able to get closer to achieving our goal.”
More than 800,000 people in the U.S. die from heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases each year. But 80 percent of cardiovascular disease may be prevented through healthy habits such as eating right, controlling cholesterol, getting physical activity and not smoking.
“As an urban serving university and as part of our overall mission, I believe that this engagement is a reflection of our commitment to the broad communities we serve and the mission of the American Heart Association,” said Stephen Lanier, co-chair of the 2017 Detroit Heart Walk and vice president for research at Wayne State University. “The Heart Walk promotes fun ways to be physically active and make healthier choices every day. And it allows us all to embrace the cause to create healthier, longer lives.”
The Detroit Heart Walk is nationally sponsored by Subway. Local sponsors include: Wayne State University; Harley Ellis Deveraux; Meijer; Barton Malow Company; Advantage Living Center; Heartfulness Institute; Rise Above Heart Failure; Total Health Care; Walgreens; Kroger; Beaumont; Borg Warner; Detroit Demand Performance; PVS Chemicals, Inc.; St. Joseph Mercy Oakland; Blue Cross Blue Shield; Bright Side Dental; Chemical Bank; Community Network Service; Cooper Standard; Medical Weight Loss Clinic; and Testing Engineers & Consultants Inc.
For more information on the walk, visit detroitheartwalk.org.
About American Heart Association/American Stroke Association
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. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-800-AHA-USA1, visit heart.org or any of our offices around the country.
About Wayne State University
Wayne State University is one of the nation's preeminent public research universities in an urban setting. Through its multidisciplinary approach to research and education, and its ongoing collaboration with government, industry and other institutions, the university seeks to enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life in the city of Detroit, state of Michigan and throughout the world. For more information about research at Wayne State University, visit research.wayne.edu.