Heart disease is something that is often overlooked, but one event in Lima Square is trying to change all of that for the fourth year in a row.
"Heart disease is still the number one cause of death across the nation, so it's our biggest health concern," said Amanda Mills, Senior Director of HeartChase Lima. "80% of heart disease is preventable, so have a lot of work to do and we can actually make a big impact."
HeartChase was a collaboration between St. Rita's and the American Heart Association, taking over Lima Square with teams of two to five people each. They were competing against each other to get the most points from the checkpoints set up around downtown.
"There's a lot of different stations they can go to - each station is not only fun to participate in, but it also has a major educational component to help people learn and understand more about how they can stay healthy," said Ronda Lehman, Chief Operating Officer of St. Rita's Professional Services.
Points were tracked by a mobile app or the codeword at each station could be written down by teams. HeartChase was an opportunity to have fun, but it was also a perfect time to raise money for the American Heart Association.
"We have great sponsors in the community, and we also have teams fundraise. There's no registration fee, but they can fundraise to earn some game advantages that can actually give them a leg up on the competition. They have a lot of fun with it, they get competitive," Mills said.
About 250 people participated in HeartChase and around $80,000 were raised - showing that raising awareness and preventing heart disease is still going strong in Lima.
