Drs. Goldschmidt and Sacco Look for New Heart Walk Royalty
Victor Vega was king of the Miami-Dade Start! Heart Walk two years ago, raising more money for heart disease and stroke prevention research and education programs supported by the American Heart Association than any other participant in the 5K walk.
This year, the associate vice president of customer and concierge services at University of Miami Hospital wants to be dethroned – by anyone in the UM family.
“Let’s keep it in the house. Let’s keep it here at UM,” Vega urged Thursday at a Start! Heart Walk kickoff event at the Medical Wellness Center. “Let’s beat out everybody in 2010.”
Joining Vega at the kickoff event, Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., and Ralph Sacco, M.D., chair of neurology and the first neurologist to lead the American Heart Association, said there are even more important reasons than bragging rights to try and nab Vega’s crown at the October 30 fundraiser on FIU’s southwest Miami-Dade campus.
One reason is personal: As the Dean and Dr. Sacco noted, walking is good exercise, something everybody ought to be able to manage for at least 30 minutes a day.
“Believe it or not, when humans were originally engineered, we were not supposed to sit at a desk. We were designed to actually walk a lot, probably an average of eight to ten hours a day,” Dean Goldschmidt said.“If you can’t find half an hour call your boss, and then call me, because I should provide you that time to give to yourself.”
Sacco cited another: the $700,000 organizers of this year’s Heart Walk hope to raise in Miami-Dade will help fund important AHA-supported research and public education programs aimed at reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke. He noted that UM currently receives $4.3 million from the AHA for 24 research projects.
“Raising money is critical for making this mission work,” Sacco said.“The amount of money that you raise from the Heart Walk will support research to cure heart disease and stroke and meet the new mission, which is building healthier lives free of cardiovascular disease and stroke.”
Vega certainly has done his part, raising almost a third – $15,000 – of the total $40,000 UM teams raised for the 2008 Heart Walk. He did it, he said, by talking to everyone he knows, and everybody he met for a couple of months.“If there was a rock I turned it over to see if there was money there, too,” he said.
Now, it’s someone else’s turn. To register as a UM walker or team captain, send your name, e-mail address and phone number to the AHA’s Gretchen Semancik at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), or call her with any questions at 305-992-8964. If you’re interested in being a team captain, Semancik promises to meet with you personally and help you navigate the Heart Walk website’s fundraising tips.
“Don’t be afraid,” she said at the kickoff.“We are here through the whole process. We won’t leave you high and dry.”
In addition to the 5K walk, the Heart Walk will include a fun festival for the entire family with breakfast and lunch provided. Festivities begin at 9 a.m., and the walk will commence at 10 a.m. For more information, please visit http://www.miamidadeheartwalk.org.
