Hundreds of heart disease and stroke survivors will help lead thousands of participants at the American Heart Association’s 22nd annual Sacramento Heart Walk on Saturday, September 22 at William Land Park. The annual Heart Walk is the largest local event for the association and is expected to draw 5,000 walkers while raising nearly $600,000. Funds raised from the event will go toward the American Heart Association’s overall goal to help fund research and find better ways to treat and prevent cardiovascular disease and stroke. “The Sacramento Heart Walk is all about promoting walking as an easy way for individuals and families to get out and get active so that they can lower their risk of

SACRAMENTO – A sea of red shirts will overtake Crocker Park as hundreds of walkers and runners come together this Saturday, June 16, to participate in the 2nd Annual Go Red Race to benefit the American Heart Association. The Go Red Race, presented by The Golden 1 Credit Union and Sutter Heart & Vascular Institute, is another event in the line-up for the Go Red For Women movement in the Sacramento area. The movement seeks to increase awareness of heart disease as the number one killer of women and to inspire the local community to take charge of their heart health. Funds raised from the event will go toward the American Heart Association’s overall goal to help fund research and find better

What do women want?  Try a gentle nudge, fusing health with spa treatments to spark awareness that women self-care is necessary, especially when the goal is to live well enough to enjoy watching your own grandchildren grow up.  More than 1,300 people attended the 2012 American Heart Association’s Annual Go Red for Women benefit at Woodlake Hotel on Friday.  A white linen luncheon complete with chicken salad, walnuts, cranberries, and light vinaigrette, chocolate truffles and mousse dessert graced the tables as girlfriends engaged in conversation, a mini shopping spree, red feather boas, Macy’s gift cards, zumba with the Golden 1 Credit Union mascot, and sparkly heart shaped accessories

Susan has been on the cusp of modern medicine her whole life. Having been born with a heart defect, she is no stranger to heart conditions. In 1959, Susan was born with an interatrial septal defect, also known as a hole in the heart. When Susan was only 2 years old, she had open heart surgery to repair her heart. The procedure, which was still very new, was performed by the famous pioneering heart surgeon, Denton A. Cooley, M.D. The hole was surgically closed and Susan went on to have a happy, healthy and normal childhood. It wasn’t until Susan was in her late 20s that her heart started having problems – problems that were completely unrelated to her heart condition as a child. In June

Since her twenties, Linda felt like she had the word "smoker" tattooed on her forehead whenever she'd see a doctor. Her symptoms – shortness of breath, dizziness, fatigue – were always chalked up to her smoking habit. "Of course, I knew that my smoking contributed to my symptoms, but I wished I had a doctor who would be proactive about my health, even though I'm a smoker," she said. As Linda got older, she became increasingly concerned about her health. “I was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse,” she said. “It’s a common condition that explained a lot of my symptoms. But I found out later that was a misdiagnosis – my condition was much worse.” Around her 50th birthday, suspected she may

The American Heart Association (AHA) held its 2012 Start Training Team Kickoff on Saturday at the California Family Fitness Center in Folsom. The event included health screenings, nutritional and health information as well as a series of mentor and inspirational speeches. This year’s run/walk half marathon will be held at the American River Parkway on April 28. Participants are required to raise a minimum of $500 through writing letters, email campaigns and personal fundraising websites. The goal for this campaign is $100,000. By the kickoff meeting, a little over $6,000 had already been pledged. Start Training is a team training program for AHA half marathon participants of all levels

SACRAMENTO — Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento has received the Get With The Guidelines® – Heart Failure Silver Performance Achievement Award from the American Heart Association. The recognition signifies that Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento has reached an aggressive goal of treating heart failure patients with 85 percent compliance for one year to core standard levels of care as outlined by the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology secondary prevention guidelines for heart failure patients. Get With The Guidelines is a quality improvement initiative that provides hospital staff with tools that follow proven evidence-based guidelines and procedures in caring for hear

William Land Park will come alive Saturday with over 3,000 community members walking together to fight against heart disease in the Sacramento Heart Walk.  Start! Heart Walk is locally sponsored by Sutter Heart & Vascular Institute, and aided nationally by the American Heart Association.  The event is scheduled to begin from 8 a.m. to noon. The Sacramento community is very much involved, said Kristine Mosqueda-Kelly with American Heart Association.  Families and individuals are participating in this event to share their stories and hopefully raise community awareness about the fight against heart disease and stroke.  The event is driven by volunteers and walkers to fund lifesaving researc