I'm walking because I know that with every step, I am saving lives. Potentially, my own. Heart disease runs in my family, like many American families. Sometimes it's a silent killer and sometimes you watch it ruin your loved ones lives out loud. I watched my father spend multiple weeks in the hospital last summer as a newly diagnosed heart failure patient, and the fact that I just turned 40 this summer makes me want to fight back harder.
So I'm walking to maximize my prevention with exercise and a better diet - but also to fund critical and groundbreaking research that could help treat a future chronic disease that my genetics are waiting to spring on me regardless of my actions. We're all tied to heart disease and stroke in some way. We have to change that. Will you help me?