Heart Health Awareness Starts at Young Age

With the Oneonta Heart Run and Walk for the American Heart Association coming up this Saturday, it is a good time to talk about achieving heart health.

Chief of Cardiac Surgery at Bassett Medical Center Dr. Robert Lancey talks about the up-close cardiac surgery program, which teaches middle school students about the importance of living healthy lives.

"They make decisions on a daily basis on what they eat, whether they will smoke, whether they will be active or not active, and these are all factors that lead to heart disease," Dr. Lancey said. "We present information to them about smoking and about some of the dangers of smoking. We talk to them about exercise and the benefits of regular exercise and how many team sports and even individual sports are important. Even as little as walking stair rather than taking elevators is very important."

Dr. Lancey says heart health starts at a young age and we are not going to win the battle against heart disease without focusing on habits that start early.

The 10th annual Oneonta Heart Run and Walk for the American Heart Association is 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday at Neahwa Park.