The 2025 Greater Nashville Heart Walk is approaching fast, and it’s not too late to join a team to raise awareness and funds for research, advocacy and CPR training to combat heart disease and stroke.
The family-friendly event, organized by the American Heart Association (AHA) and sponsored in part by VUMC, will be held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20 at GEODIS Park, 501 Benton Ave. in Nashville. The festival area opens at 8 a.m., including hands-only CPR training, blood pressure screenings and a kids’ zone. The walk begins at 9:30 a.m., with a 2-mile route.
“It is an opportunity for our community to come out and really rally around combating the No. 1 and No. 5 causes of death in Middle Tennessee, which are cardiovascular disease and stroke,” said Sophie Marini, marketing communications director for the local AHA. “We are walking to save lives.”
VUMC has more than 50 teams participating in the walk; click here to join them. Registration is free; participants are encouraged to fundraise and make a personal donation to support the Heart Walk. Participants who register and donate a minimum of $25 will receive a T-shirt. The deadline to register is Sept. 14.
Marini said this year the AHA is encouraging one person in each household to learn hands-only CPR. A cardiac arrest patient has double the chance of survival if a person trained in hands-only CPR is assisting. “It’s all about turning the community of bystanders into a community of lifesavers,” she said.
The AHA reports that it is funding $7.8 million in research and discovery in Middle Tennessee. Over the lifetime of the relationship between VUMC and the AHA, more than $100 million has been dedicated to research and discovery.
Highlights of the AHA’s impact in 2024 include:
- More than 1 million people were reached through sustainable policy and systems changes alongside more than 25 community and clinical partners.
- Local advocates help lead the statewide push for Cardiac Emergency Response Plans for Schools and Athletic Activities. The Tennessee legislature unanimously passed legislation in support, which was signed by Gov. Bill Lee alongside NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
- Local volunteers led blood pressure screenings and hands-only CPR demonstrations with more than 1,500 employees and community members.
- Middle Tennessee raised $3.6 million in funds for the AHA.
For more information about the Greater Nashville Heart Walk, click here.