Taking steps to improve cardiovascular health
Thousands of Buckeyes hit the streets of downtown Columbus on August 19, 2023, to walk in support of the American Heart Association’s central Ohio Heart Walk.
“Heart disease is the No. 1 killer in the country and in the world,” says Nahush Mokadam, MD, director of the division of cardiac surgery at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, who took part in the walk.
2023 Team Ohio State Heart Walk Recap
Watch highlights of Team Ohio State at the 2023 American Heart Association’s 2023 Heart Walk.
More than 1,800 Buckeyes from across the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center and The Ohio State University walked in the event. The Ohio State team raised more than $75,000 in support of the Heart Walk, which is used to fund lifesaving heart and vascular research projects.
“Eighty percent of heart disease is preventable,” says John J. Warner, MD, Chief executive officer of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and executive vice president at Ohio State. “I use the Heart Walk each year as a chance to remind myself of how important heart and vascular health is.”
More than 15,000 people in total attended this year’s Heart Walk event.
“I think heart health awareness is really important because it affects all of us,” says Bryan Whitson, MD, PhD, interim director of The Ohio State University Heart and Vascular Center and professor of cardiac surgery.