I'm dedicating this year's walk to my friend Phil Lepanto, who passed away at age 53, in July from "undiagnosed, asymptomatic cardiac artery disease."

My own story: on May 08, 2024, I had a cardiac catheterization, and during the procedure the doctor found my left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery was 99% blocked.  So, they put in a few stents, and two years later, after some lifestyle and medicine changes, I am successfully managing my risks and my overall health.

The moral(s) of my story:

1 - Know your family history and get tested accordingly: I was slower than I should have been in finally getting baseline Cardiac Calcium testing done. My score was 600, “high likelihood of significant obstruction in one or more arteries”. That led to a Stress Echo test, which led to said cardiac catheterization.

2 - Understand your other risk factors: my cholesterol, specifically triglycerides, had been high, but trending down with diet and exercise, so we let it go without meds for the past few years. At my last physical, my numbers had spiked up, another factor leading to that first visit with the cardiologist, and adding a statin to the routine.  I have since added RePatha to my treatment plan, since diet and statin were not effective in reducing my cholesterol.

3 - Listen to your body. I ran the worst Army Ten Miler of my life in October 2023 and knew something wasn’t right. Nothing hurt and I didn’t have “discomfort” but I could tell something was off. I never understood how athletes had heart attacks out of the blue, but I do now. I’d been exercising consistently for the past 3 1/2 years, but that’s not enough on its own.

The combo of those three things snuck up on me, so I’m sharing with all y’all in hopes that you’ll pause, take note of your own circumstances and take action as appropriate.

We're all tied to heart disease and stroke in some way. We have to change that. Will you help me?

Your donation will fund groundbreaking research that literally keeps hearts beating and helps people have longer, healthier lives.

Have a heart and help me reach my goal today.