The American Heart Association (AHA) held its annual Bell County Heart Walk on Saturday.
The goal of this walk is, “to raise funds, awareness about heart disease and stroke not only in our community but beyond.”
“Heart disease is the number one killer in Americans; stroke is number five,” Kim Klimt, Senior Market Director for Central Texas AHA. “Exercise is one of the easiest ways for prevention.”
Dr. Hicks from Baylor Scott & White encouraged the crowd to “walk more, eat better, and live longer.”
Survivors and caregivers alike came to this walk to spread awareness and gather donations.
“I lead a healthy lifestyle, but my heart was failing; I was busy,” Thomas Kelley, survivor, said. “I got a new heart November 7, 2017. I’m a two-year anniversary survivor. Every day I wake up and thank God I’m here.”
The American Heart Association’s mission to cure heart disease and stroke has touched millions of lives, not only those in Central Texas.
“I think it’s great,” Tammy Abbott said. “My husband suffered from sudden cardiac arrest and survived.”
Every year 800,000 people die from heart disease in the United States. Almost everyone has been affected by this disease in one way or another. The AHA is trying to fix that by organizing these walks and events to discover a cure.
