I walk for my family. I walk for the generations before me, and for the generations that will come after. Heart disease has touched my life in ways that I can never forget, and it has shaped my purpose in the fight against it.

My grandmother passed away in 1981 because of heart disease. As a child, I didn’t fully understand the word “hereditary,” but I understood loss. Then, in 1994, heart disease took my father. Losing two pillars of my family left a mark that has never faded. Over the years, I have continued to see other family members struggle, battle, and in some cases, lose their lives to this same disease. For my family, heart disease isn’t an isolated event it is a pattern, a history, a threat that continues across generations.

That is why I walk.

I walk because heart disease is hereditary for me, and I refuse to sit back and let the story repeat itself. Instead, I choose to be proactive. I choose to support research. I choose to take care of my health. I choose to raise my voice, raise awareness, and raise funds that will help protect not only my life, but the lives of others who stand where I stand.

Walking in the Heart Walk is not just an event, it is a commitment. It’s my way of honoring the loved ones I have lost, standing with the loved ones still fighting, and taking control of my own future. Every dollar raised fuels research, innovation, prevention, and education that can change the course of a family’s story, including mine.

I walk from the heart.
I walk with purpose.
I walk so that one day, fewer families will have to say goodbye too soon.

This is why I walk , and why I will keep walking.

#HeartWalk #AdvocateHealth #WalkingFromTheHeart #AHA #Yagottalovett