2,000 celebrate medical advances at Start! Heart Walk

By SEAN BARRON

news@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

If you look at 4-year-old Lucas Kuhlman, you likely will see an energetic, robust boy whose interests include watching the Cleveland Browns and playing T-ball and with toy trains and Legos.

Just a few years ago, however, his parents’ main interest and focus was their youngest son’s health.

That’s because shortly before age 2, the Columbiana boy had open-heart surgery in Akron to correct a defect, which created a cleftlike opening in a valve wall connecting his heart’s two chambers. The condition, called primium atrial septal defect, resulted in the mixing of oxygenated and nonoxygenated blood, causing the right side of Lucas’ heart to overwork.

On Saturday, though, Lucas, his parents, Chad and Sara Kuhlman, and his 6-year-old brother, Jack, celebrated Lucas’ survival by participating in the 2010 Start! Heart Walk at the Covelli Centre.

Perfect weather greeted the Kuhlmans, among an estimated 2,000 people from Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties

to take part in the

annual fund-raising event,

sponsored by the American Heart Association. Participants formed teams or walked individually around the center’s

perimeter to raise awareness of cardiovascular diseases and stroke, which kill an estimated 910,000 Americans each year, health experts say.

Cardiovascular diseases and stroke are the nation’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers,

respectively, according to the heart association.

The walk aims to raise money to support lifesaving research and education programs, and to encourage the community to add physical activity as a way toward a healthier lifestyle, noted Gina Berila, communications director for the Youngstown Area American Heart Association. This year’s goal is to raise $232,000, Berila explained.

Many survivors wore “red caps of courage,” while other walkers remembered and honored with special tributes loved ones who did not survive the diseases.

“He’s doing extremely well; you would never know anything was wrong with him,” Sara Kuhlman said of Lucas, adding that he’s in his second year at Jerusalem Lutheran Preschool in

Columbiana.

“We’re very blessed to have healthy children,” Chad Kuhlman added.

The Kuhlmans said they were happy to be in their first heart walk.

The event’s cause is very close to Matt Lewis’ heart because he and his wife, Marie, lost their 4-month-old daughter, Maine, in 2005 after she was born with a heart defect.

“It’s extremely personal,” said Lewis, of Beaver Township, the Republican candidate for the 33rd District state Senate seat now held by Democrat Joe Schiavoni of Canfield.

In addition, Lewis’ 12-year-old son, Matthias, was treated at Cleveland Clinic for a hole in his heart at age 5.

An umbrella-shaped silicone patch was poked through the hole, allowing his heart to grow over it. The procedure also prevented Matthias from having to

undergo open-heart surgery, Matt Lewis explained.

Matthias, a seventh-grader who’s home-schooled, plays soccer and football. He’s in good health and needs checkups only every two years at the clinic, he added.

The heart walk truly was a family affair for the Lewises, who also brought daughters Maelle and Mallory, 5 and 10, respectively, and sons Marshall, 3, and Matthan, 9.

Kicking off the walk were stretching exercises, team photographs and blood-pressure screenings. On display were colored posters made by Canfield Middle School students with slogans such as “When you move your feet, your heart makes a beat,” and “Walk to the beat of your heart.”

Also available was information on cooking healthful foods, good nutrition, exercise and prevention.

The event’s master of ceremonies was Thomas John Meister, promotions director for Clear Channel radio and digital in the Youngstown area, who’s also known as longtime local radio personality Thomas John.

Medical advancements have led to bypass surgery, heart- and lung-bypass machines, stents and other lifesaving procedures. Nevertheless, more work lies ahead, noted Donald Koenig, chief operating officer and executive vice president of Humility of Mary Health Partners and St. Elizabeth Health Center.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done until we eradicate these two deadly diseases,” Koenig said. “That’s why we’re here.”

MAKING HEALTHY CHOICES

Tips

An estimated 2,000 people from Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties took part in Saturday’s 2010 Start! Heart Walk event at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown to fight cardiovascular diseases and stroke, America’s No. 1 and No. 3 killer, respectively. American Heart Association recommendations for staying healthy and fit include:

Incorporating into daily routines physical activity such as walking or riding a bicycle to work and exercising while watching TV.

Adding walking, swimming or other exercise to your lunch hour.

Scheduling physical activity during times of higher energy. Try it for a month, then assess if you feel more energetic.

Warming up and cooling down before and after exercise to prevent injury.

Learning to associate physical fitness with a favorite activity such as reading a book while riding a stationary bike, for example.

Choosing walking, jogging and other activities that require minimal preparation.

Making small changes such as climbing steps instead of using an elevator and parking farther from a destination to encourage more walking.

Setting realistic goals and consulting with a trainer.

Developing activities that are available during any type of weather, including step aerobics, indoor cycling and swimming, calisthenics, stair climbing, dancing and rope skipping.

Staying in motels that have swimming pools and exercise facilities.

Having exercise as a regular part of the day and week and writing it on the calendar.

Inviting friends and others to accompany you on walks, for example.

Joining an organization such as the YMCA or any local fitness center.

Realizing that benefits of appropriate exercise include reducing stress, controlling depression and decreasing the likelihood of high blood pressure, atherosclerosis and other diseases.

Source: American Heart Association