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A Walk With Heart Join In And Meet Payton Jones

photo by Photo Provided Payton Jones knows first hand how heart disease and healthy choices are critical to all Americans. Working with the American Heart Association, Payton is inviting anyone in Addison County to walk for research, awareness and support of people dealing with heart conditions!

Tuesday September 22, 2015

By Cookie Steponaitis

The facts are somber and shocking. One of every four deaths in America which equals over 600,000 people are from heart conditions and statistics prove it is equally prevalent for both men and women. The 2009 American Heart Association statistics show that more than half of all deaths in America for men were caused by heart conditions. Heart disease and heart attacks are not specific to any age, gender or ethnic background and in fact every year over 700,000 Americans have a heart attack. Over 500,000 of those people have their first attack and the other 200,000 plus learn that they have already suffered an attack they may not have been aware of.
   The American Heart Association battles these staggering numbers which is a daunting task. High blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking are identified as key risk factors of heart disease and it is alarming to know that over 40% of the American population has at least one of these three risk factors. And in addition to these risk factors people who have Diabetes, are overweight, have a poor diet, have low amounts of physical activity or use alcohol excessively are at greater risk. The American Heart Society uses their annual Heart Walks like the one being held on Saturday, September 26th at Oakledge Park in Burlington, Vermont from 8:30-11:00 a.m. which involves the public in fundraising, promoting healthy life style choices and celebrating the people who are survivors of attacks.
    Teen Payton Jones is joining forces with the American Heart Association and inviting everyone to come and walk for the AMA. Payton, with a huge smile and determined walk does not look like someone with firsthand knowledge of heart disease, yet she is a survivor. At age eleven, Payton suffered a cardiac arrest at a swim meet as the result of an undiagnosed rare disease. Payton is committed to not only raising funds but giving teens a leg up on healthy choices and formed a walking team that has walked each year to raise money. She is currently taking on a project to have restaurants meet nutrition standards in kid’s meals and eliminate sugary drinks from their kid’s menus.
    Payton would like nothing more than to have you sign up for the upcoming walk by going to https://yourethecure.org/aha/advocacy/details.aspx?BlogId=2&PostId=4240 and learn how you can start a team, walk yourself or make a donation. Payton will be on hand as will hundreds of others, but this message goes out to the teens as well. Payton takes each day as a gift and challenges her friends, school mates and others in the area to be a part of walking for cures, increased awareness and help others see that as Lailah Akita remarked, “Life is defined by time. Time defined moments. Time is priceless gift.”

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