PALMDALE – Palmdale residents Keyota Cole and her daughter Faith are participating for the first time in the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Antelope Valley Heart & Stroke Walk.
They are joining hundreds of other walkers this Saturday (Oct. 12) at Marie Kerr Park in Palmdale to celebrate life and join the fight against heart disease and stroke – the nation’s No. 1 and No. 4 killers.
Keyota and Faith are both heart disease survivors. Keyota was born with a hole in her heart and had undergone several open-heart procedures since she was a child. Many years later, her daughter Faith was born with a heart defect that required open-heart surgery when she was only six days old.
Today the mother and daughter are thriving, thanks to advances in cardiovascular research and medicine, but their battle against heart disease is far from over.
Funds raised at the Heart & Stroke Walk will support the AHA’s research efforts aimed at better understanding, treating and preventing heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases, as well as the association’s community education outreach and patient care improvement initiatives.
Everyone is invited to form a team with family, friends or coworkers and sign up on www.GLACountyHeartWalk.org. There is no fee to participate in the event. Individuals who raise $100 or more will receive an official Heart & Stroke Walk t-shirt.
The Heart & Stroke Walk, sponsored nationally by Subway and Jenny Craig and locally by Union Bank and UCLA Health, is a family event featuring a non-competitive 5-kilometer walk/run and one-mile Survivor Path. Other highlights include a Health and Wellness Expo, Survivor Lounge, Kids Zone featuring games and educational information promoting heart health and more.
The event begins at 8:15 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 12, at Marie Kerr Park, located at 39700 30th Street West in Palmdale. Registration opens 7 a.m.
For more information about the 2013 Antelope Valley Heart & Stroke Walk, visit www.GLACountyHeartWalk.org or call Alisha Castro at (213) 291-7094.
Antelope Valley is one of seven locations in LA County that will host the Greater Los Angeles Heart & Stroke Walk. Walks will also take place in Pomona, Pasadena, Downtown LA, Santa Clarita, Santa Monica and Long Beach. The goal is to raise a combined $1.75 million.
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