County turns out to fight heart disease
Oct. 7—HARPERSFIELD — Hundreds of people turned out Saturday morning to help fight heart disease at the Ashtabula County Heart Walk at SPIRE Academy.
Two-hundred people signed up to walk or run on a cool, fall morning. Many brought friends, both human and canine, as the county gathered to fight heart disease.
The walk is one of two in northeast Ohio sponsored by the American Heart Association of Greater Cleveland, organization development director Stephanie Westerh said.
She said the organization covers Cuyahoga, Ashtabula, Lake, Geauga, Lorain and Medina counties and works to fight heart disease through fundraising and education.
One of the reasons the heart walk occurs in Ashtabula County is to focus on rural healthcare needs, Westerh said. Many people have longer distances to drive for healthy food and for medical treatment.
Nine out of 10 people who suffer cardiac arrest outside of the hospital die. In most of those cases, bystander CPR was not performed. That is why the American Heart Association is broadening efforts to drive CPR education, according to information provided by Jordan Van Dootingh in a press released from the regional organization.
AHAGC Executive Director Shelley Webber was on-site to kick off the event, which is hosted to celebrate victories over heart disease, and make people aware of its dangers.
"It is a day of celebration," she said.
Organizers said the event raised $115,000 last year, and had already collected more than $127,000 this year, with hopes of surpassing the all-time record of $148,000 by the end of the campaign.
Webber said the American Heart Association is also celebrating 100 years of fighting heart disease. She said it was found by six cardiac surgeons in Chicago.
"Heart disease is the number one killer of Americans," Webber said.
She said the association is working not only to raise funds to fight the disease, but also educating community members and providing CPR training.
"We just partnerered with Ashtabula Foundation and Ashtabula libraries," she said of the program that has already started at the Andover Public Library. She said people can monitor their blood pressure at the library.
Westerh said local companies have made the fundraising happen, and local event leadership is important in the process as well. She said Jeff Orloff, president of SPIRE Academy, was the community chairman this year.
She said community chairmen have been appointed for the next three years She said Ashtabula Regional Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Leonard Stepp will lead the 2025 event; Richard Trice of Gelenbeigh, 2026; and Allen Blankenship of Grand River Rubber, 2027.
"By supporting the Ashtabula County Heart Walk you are moving our mission forward," Webber said,"With every step you take and every dollar you raise, you are creating a legacy."
