The American Heart Association (AHA) will host the walking event ‘LA Heart Walk’ at the Pasadena Rose Bowl Stadium starting at 7:30 AM on the 3rd of next month.
Participants will learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) from experts before the walking event and have time to cheer for heart disease and stroke survivors.
In this year’s event, Melissa Giebel, who overcame cardiac arrest, will signal the start by beating a drum. Giebel collapsed about 1 mile from the finish line during the 2015 Paris Half Marathon. At the time, volunteers at the scene immediately performed CPR and used an automated external defibrillator (AED) to provide first aid before paramedics arrived, allowing her to save her life. During the subsequent hospital transfer process, a previously undiagnosed congenital heart defect was confirmed.
Giebel successfully completed the Paris Half Marathon again last year, 10 years after the cardiac arrest. She, who recently gave birth to her first child, plans to play the drum symbolizing the heartbeat that protected her life at this event.
According to the American Heart Association, more than 350,000 people experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital each year in the U.S. If CPR is performed immediately after cardiac arrest, the survival rate increases 2-3 times, but the actual rate of receiving first aid is less than half. The association conducts chest-compression-focused CPR training for participants at the event venue.
In addition, the event venue will have an experience space for children and a memorial/cheering space for heart disease and stroke survivors.
David Morgan, COO of UCLA West Valley Medical Center, who is the event chair this year, emphasized, “Cardiac emergencies can occur anywhere, including at home, work, and in the community,” and “More people need to be familiar with CPR and emergency response methods.”
This LA Heart Walk is sponsored by UCLA Health and USC Keck Medicine. Participant registration and detailed information can be found on the official website (www.heart.org/en/).
Meanwhile, the American Heart Association recently selected Korean high school student Enoch Kim (17, Torrance South High School), who recently lost a family member to heart disease, as a ‘National Youth Heart Ambassador’.
