Hundreds walk for a healthy heart

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - It was a good day Sunday to get out and enjoy the nice weather and lots of people were out doing something good for others, raising money for a good cause.

"I have a family member that has a heart condition, which is my father," said Heather Keier, Westfield.

Hundreds of people with similar stories walked at the Pioneer Valley Heart Walk in Forest Park Sunday to raise money for the research, education and awareness of both heart disease and stroke.

Susan Lawson and her husband Kevin walked together and now live a healthy life style together with their families support after they both had a good scare.

"We are both survivors. My husband had open heart surgery five years ago and two years ago, I had a triple bypass surgery," Lawson, from Longmeadow said.

Heart disease and stroke is both the first and third leading killer in both men and women.

A good way to prevent it, live a healthy lifestyle, and walk on a regular basis.

Walking helps adults gain as much as two hours of life expectancy for each hour they spend exercising.

Event supporters and participants, including 22News reporter Jackie Bruno, helped raise the thousands of dollars put toward getting people moving, and raising the awareness that heart disease can happen to anyone, at any age.

"We lost my father at age 56 of a heart attack and my grandfather also died from heart-related issues," said Jennifer Brissette, Ludlow.

Brissette brought her kids along to also get them thinking about living a healthy lifestyle early on.