2026 Utah Heart & Stroke Walk

In August 2023, Taylor Cowan was coaching youth football with his brother in Herriman, Utah.

The players were running a drill at practice next to the Herriman High School (HHS) football field, when Taylor experienced chest pain. He had been having chest pain for months, but doctors assured him it wasn’t life-threatening. That day was different, though. Taylor collapsed on the field from sudden cardiac arrest. The HHS sophomore football coach checked for a pulse and couldn’t find one, so he began performing CPR immediately.

The coach who started CPR on Taylor had just received CPR training and certification the week prior. If that practice had been anywhere else that day. If there hadn’t been an AED nearby and if someone hadn’t been trained in CPR and willing to act, Taylor wouldn’t be here today.

Meanwhile, the HHS head football coach ran to get an AED from inside the school. The coaches and athletic trainer performed CPR for 10 minutes, delivering two shocks from the AED, before Taylor’s heart was brought back to a normal rhythm. He later awoke in a hospital bed surrounded by his family and friends.

Cardiac arrest doesn’t wait for first responders to arrive, but prepared people save lives.

Sign up for the Heart Walk, step out, and share your personal why.