Linn County Heart Walk returns this August

CEDAR RAPIDS — The American Heart Association’s annual Heart Walk is coming back to Cedar Rapids this summer after a year of challenges and delays due to the coronavirus pandemic and the derecho.

American Heart Association Communications Director Chrissy Meyer said participants this year will have the option to join the walk at Kirkwood Community College or walk on their own on a route of their choosing.

The fundraising goal for the Aug. 1 event is $80,000. According to the Linn County Heart Walk website, over $18,000 had been raised as of Thursday. The money goes toward medical research, education and influencing legislative policies.

Meyer recently spoke with The Gazette about the upcoming event and the challenges of the past year.

Q. What is the Heart Walk?

A. The Heart Walk is the American Heart Association’s signature fundraising event. We call it our “mission in motion.” Physical activity is one of the single best things you can do to improve your heart health, and walking is one of the best physical activities you could do for your heart. So the Heart Walk is a great way to kind of educate people about the importance of physical activity, but it also is one of our biggest fundraisers in the Linn County area as well.

Q. Who can participate in the Heart Walk?

A. Anyone can participate. We often see local companies putting together teams to raise funds and support the walk. We also typically have several survivor teams, and these are teams of individuals who are supporting someone who has survived heart disease or stroke.

For instance, our ambassador this year is Charlie Howard, and he is 2 years old. And Charlie was born with a congenital heart defect (known as hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which basically means his heart was only half developed when he was born), so his family walks in honor of Charlie. In addition, we have people who form walk teams to honor a loved one that maybe has passed away as a result of heart disease or stroke, and then there are just those individuals that come out and want to support the event and work with us.

Q. What are the event details?

A. The event is happening on Saturday, Aug. 1, at 8 a.m. at Kirkwood Community College. And so, individuals and teams are invited to come and walk with us at Kirkwood Community College, or if people do not feel comfortable yet coming to a big group event, they are also welcome to walk on Aug. 1 in their own neighborhoods, choosing their own paths.

As far as deadlines go, you can sign up for a team for the Heart Walk right up to the event, and we even have some people that register on site that morning at Kirkwood. Online registration is available at LinnCountyheartwalk.org. We also have a mobile app that people can use to run their fundraising channel and stay up to date on the event.

Q. What kind of challenges did the Heart Walk face last year?

A. So last year was interesting in the Linn County area because not only did COVID have a huge impact on our event in that we had to shift to a virtual walk, but the event was also originally scheduled for the last Sunday in August, and then the derecho hit two weeks before the walk.

So, Linn County experienced a bit of a one-two punch, and we made the decision to postpone the event until October last year. We still managed to reach our fundraising goal for the 2020-2021 fiscal year, but we did take a bit of a hit. So, we are very excited to be back in person this year, and it feels like a little bit of a return to normal after what was definitely a challenging year.

Q. Why should people participate in and support the Heart Walk?

A. Heart disease is still the No. 1 killer of adults in the United States, even in the last year with everything else we’ve experienced, heart disease is still No. 1, and that’s true in the Linn County area as well, even with three incredible health care centers right there in the Corridor. And unfortunately, we’re now also seeing young people developing those significant risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure in young men or children having obesity or high blood pressure or high cholesterol before their 18th birthday. And, that’s pretty alarming.

We know that 80 percent of heart disease is preventable through lifestyle changes — walking being one of the very simple and yet very important things that you can do to reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke. So this event is really a good opportunity to educate people about heart disease and stroke, as well as risk factors and making better personal choices such as eating smart, moving more (the AHA recommends 150 minutes of moderate activity per week), quitting smoking or vaping and working with your doctor to identify risk factors and create an action plan to address them.

Comments: (319) 398-8238; kat.russell@thegazette.com.