LAKE PARK, FL - Ron Walker is 44 years old. He has had three hearts.
Heart disease and stroke remain the number one and number three killers of Americans.
Medical research is cutting into those numbers. Walker is here today because of that research.
This Olympic-caliber sprinter's dream was cut short when he was 23.
"I was running one morning and couldn't stop coughing. Coughing actually overpowered my run. So I went to the hospital and got worked up and they said I had an enlarged heart," he said.
He was told it was a viral infection. He was put on a transplant list and received a new heart.
Twenty years later he was back on another transplant list, for a third heart. The operation was Easter Sunday last year. He was close to death.
"Well, it came down to I was actually two to four hours away from actually dying, before the heart actually stopped. They had no choice. They had to transplant then or I wouldn't survive the night," he said.
Medicine he took for the first transplant caused coronary heart disease, thus the third heart.
This former Newport News police detective, and father of three, knows the benefits of research into heart disease.
This year Walker is a "Red Cap Ambassador," spreading the word about the work of the American Heart Association.
He's is living proof, a lifestyle hero. His message is vitally important.
"You can survive heart disease and through research and education they're improving ways to combat heart disease, coronary heart disease and other diseases that affect the human heart. And I want everyone to know they can survive this. All they need to do is to take better care of themselves, eat well, educate themselves because a lot of people today are concerned about their health, in general,” he said.
It's why Walker and his family will join a few thousand other people for this year's "Start! Heart Walk," the high profile annual event to zero in on heart education and prevention.
He considers himself a lucky man. “Very lucky...twice over,” he adds.
This year's Start! Heart Walk is set for Saturday, September 26th in West Palm Beach and Boca Raton.
Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. with the walk starting at 9 a.m.
For more information about pre-registration and donations, go to
palmbeachheartwalk.org or call 888-355-1060.
