Press Release Archive (2013)

Archives By Year

Lowell General Hospital Rallies Around Heart Disease

Home
About Us
Press Releases
Lowell General Hospital Rallies Around Heart Disease

More than 1,500 raise $150G for heart awareness, research

Photos are available on facebook

October 28, 2010 – LOWELL, MA – For the fourth year, the American Heart Association’s Start! Heart Walk strolled onto the Sampas Pavilion, welcomed by Lowell General Hospital and other local sponsors. This year, the event marched out with well over 1,500 walkers flagging the importance of heart health and $150,000 closer to helping people reduce the risk of heart disease, identify symptoms and take steps to improving their overall health.

Lowell General Hospital was a proud local sponsor of the AHA’s Merrimack Valley Start! Heart Walk on Saturday, October 16, as well as the co-sponsor of the AHA’s Lifestyle Achievement Award, won by Billerica’s Joyce Merkel. Merkel decided to make some basic changes in her life after 50 years that helped her lose nearly half of her 300 pounds along with the hypertension, high blood pressure and signs of diabetes that she had been suffering. A fit, well-toned Merkel accepted her award for a private healthy cooking class with a personal chef, valued at $500, complements of Lowell General.

The money raised by the walk supports the AHA's clinical, educational and research programs in the Greater Boston and Merrimack Valley area, but the awareness and education that springs out of the event is just as valuable.

“The topic of heart disease is a concern for the health and wellbeing of our greater Lowell community,” explains Normand E. Deschene, president and chief executive officer of Lowell General Hospital. “Our own vice president of medical affairs, Dr. Wayne Pasanen, will testify that knowing the signs and symptoms as well as getting the right care as quickly as possible is critical.” Dr. Pasanen, also a long-standing emergency services physician and a heart patient, served as the honorary chair for this year’s Start! Heart Walk.

Lowell General Hospital provides outreach and community awareness throughout the year, with classes and workshops designed to help people move towards a heart-healthy lifestyle, support groups for those with pacemakers, heart-risk screenings as well as clinical care. The opening of Lowell General Hospital’s newly expanded Heart and Vascular Center in 2008 began the hospital’s sponsorship in the AHA’s annual Start! Heart Walk.

“With heart attack and stroke, being able to recognize symptoms, receive prompt emergency care and access the life-saving and heart-sparing treatments such as angioplasty, can make the difference between life and death,” says Deschene. “We are committed to helping people lower their risks, understand their warning signs and provide quality care in a state-of-the-art setting if there is a problem.”

For more information about services for heart health at Lowell General Hospital, please visit www.lowellgeneral.org or call 1-877-LGH-WELL (1-877-544-9355).

###