The American Heart Association urges everyone to get a fresh start today by launching the National Start! Walking Day in an effort to fight heart disease. To kick off the program, the American Heart Association urges everyone to get up, leave his or her desk and walk for 30 minutes.

The Facts are Staggering

Over 81,000,000 people have heart disease in the United States. In 2006, 831,272 people in the United States died from a cardiovascular disease, as compared to 559,888 deaths caused by cancer, 121,599 deaths from accidents and 12,113 deaths caused by AIDS. Nothing kills more American’s each year than heart diseases. That’s 1 in every 2.9 deaths, and many of these could have been prevented with better lifestyle choices.

There is Hope

Research studies have shown that for every hour you spend walking, you increase your lifespan by two hours. It’s hard to argue with that investment, and many of the country’s top companies are supporting the program.

HR professionals and business managers that would like to get their team up and walking can visit the American Heart Association’s Start! in the Workplace page to sign up. The American Heart Association provides health related newsletters to send to your employees and promotes participating companies in their directory of Start! Fit Friendly Companies.

Individuals can sign up for the program at StartWalkingNow.org and receive daily tips, access to a free exercise and nutrition tracker, healthy recipes, a monthly newsletter and find walking trails near your location with Find a Trail search options.

How You Can Help Fight Heart Disease

The American Heart Association hosts the Start! Heart Walk in cities around the country. The Start! Heart Walk is the premiere fundraising event the entire family can participate in. You can walk alone or build a team of family and friends to help raise funds for research. Teams and individuals raise money and compete for prizes. Companies can sponsor individuals or entire walks. For more information on the Start! Heart Walk nearest you, visit the Start! Heart Walk Website.