(Rodney Choice/Choice Photography)

On November 5th, the American Heart Association, Greater Washington Region raised heartbeats and over $1.77 million to save and improve lives across the community during its 2022 Heart Walk. Thousands of friends, teams, coaches and sponsors came together on the National Mall to support lifesaving cardiovascular research, advocacy efforts and community programming.

The Heart Walk was co-chaired by Cynthia Cifuentes, Vice President Brand, Communications and Community Engagement and Dr. Ameya Kulkarni, Chief of Cardiology at Kaiser Permanente. This year 100 companies, 532 teams and thousands of walkers came together on the National Mall and walked remotely from anywhere they were inspired.

The event was made possible with the support of our local Greater Washington Region Heart Walk sponsors including Kaiser Permanente, Sheehy Auto Stores, Blake Real Estate, Capital One, KPMG, Leidos, Peraton, SAIC, Booz Allen Hamilton, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Capitol Canary from Quorum, Colonial Parking, Davis Construction, Digital Realty, Geico, Giant Food, Millennium Corporation, RSI, Shoppers, UnitedHealthcare, Van Metre Companies, Executive Mosaic, WUSA9, WASH-FM and the Washington Informer.

Highlights of the day included live fitness demos by health guru Laurent Amzallag, a rousing National Anthem by Ella Levri accompanied by the United States Armed Forces Color Guard, musical performances by Aria Narang and drummer, Hailey Robert and the annual pet parade complete with small dogs in tutus.

The crowd was entertained by WASH-FM radio personality, Jenni Chase who returned as emcee this year alongside new co-host, Adam Longo, anchor at WUSA9. Leading up to the Walk, participants competed in a month-long Move More Challenge presented by Sheehy Auto Stores. In total, the challenge tracked more than 132,916 minutes of activity, which is almost the equivalent of moving nonstop for over three months!

“The Heart Walk is about getting people moving, celebrating life and caring for all of the hearts we love,” said Soula Antoniou, Executive Director, American Heart Association.  “Thank you to our walkers, sponsors, and incredible volunteers who charged forward to make this year’s Walk so successful and to Kaiser Permanente’s Cynthia Cifuentes and Dr. Ameya Kulkarni for leading this tremendous event.”

This year the Executives with Heart campaign raised over $563K for the Walk, a new record. The campaign, chaired by Caroline Whittington of KPMG, brought together over 65 local leaders who pledged to personally raise at least $5000 and champion the organization’s work as a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives.