National Walking Day Celebrated at Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai Health System hosts walking events on April 2 to raise awareness that just 30-minutes of brisk walking each day can help prevent heart disease.
The Mount Sinai Health System celebrated National Walking Day on Wednesday, April 2 to encourage its employees, patients, and people everywhere to lace up their sneakers, or comfortable shoes, and commit 30 minutes to walking each day. Everyone's efforts helped make greater strides in the fight against heart disease, the number one killer of Americans.
Across the Mount Sinai Health System several hospital campuses teamed up, hosting noontime walks in a local park or the hospital's neighborhood to raise awareness of the importance of daily physical activity, the health benefits of leading a heart-healthy lifestyle, and to set a strong example for others in our community to follow in their active footsteps.
Mount Sinai's three National Walking Day events occurred at The Mount Sinai Hospital with a 30-minute walk around the Central Park reservoir; at Mount Sinai Roosevelt for a 30-minute walk to and around the lower loop of Central Park; and at Mount Sinai Beth Israel with a 30-minute walk around the neighborhood. Plus, Mount Sinai Beth Israel held an additional 30-minute walk around the neighborhood at 12:30pm.
National Walking Day, sponsored by the American Heart Association (AHA), is held on the first Wednesday of each April. The AHA is calling on all Americans, communities, and workplaces like the Mount Sinai Health System to step up and help in the fight against heart disease with increased physical activity. As adults spend more time at work, they're spending less time moving their bodies and experts say that may double their risk of heart disease.
According to the heart experts at Mount Sinai, physical activity for at least 30 minutes a day needs to part of everyone's daily routine. Brisk walking for just a half hour can keep your heart healthy and prevent heart disease. Walking can help lower your risk of heart attacks, strokes, maintain your blood pressure, cholesterol, and also prevent diabetes and obesity.
"There was a song in the '60s called 'These Boots Are Made For Walkin'," says Beth Oliver, DNP, RN, Vice President of Cardiac Services for the Mount Sinai Health System." So are your sneakers! Lace them up and come out on National Walking Day to improve your heart health, set an example, and help inspire others."
Statistics show that one in two men and one in three women are at risk for heart disease, and research shows making proactive lifestyle changes can help to reverse that. From discovering a favorite walking route to incorporating heart-healthy recipes into everyday diets, the American Heart Association's My Heart. My Life.TM healthy living initiative helps individuals and families understand how to get active and eat well.
Doctors say making time for changes in your life could even help to prolong your life."Walking at lunchtime is an easy way to fit daily exercise into your busy life," says Merle Myerson, MD, Director of the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Program at Mount Sinai Roosevelt."New Yorkers are lucky to live and work near Central Park and other outdoor areas which provide a perfect opportunity for exercise and to be heart-healthy."
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the nation’s leading integrated academic health systems and one of the largest in the New York metropolitan area. Its comprehensive system includes seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, over 600 research and clinical laboratories, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing. Together, the Health System comprises approximately 48,000 employees, more than 9,000 physicians, and 8,600 nurses.
As a leading learning health system, Mount Sinai combines clinical expertise with scientific discovery to improve patient care while training the next generation of health care and biomedical leaders. The Health System provides care across every stage of life, from prenatal care through geriatrics, while advancing personalized medicine through artificial intelligence, data science, and biomedical research.
Mount Sinai is consistently recognized among the nation’s leading academic health systems for patient care, research, and education. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 1 in New York by Newsweek and No. 5 on the magazine’s World’s Best Hospitals list. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ranks No. 11 among U.S. medical schools and No. 1 among freestanding medical schools for National Institutes of Health funding, reflecting the strength of its scientific enterprise and leadership in biomedical research.