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Palm Beach County Heart Walk raises more than $1 million to fight heart disease

Posted at 6:58 PM, Sep 24, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-26 09:23:56-04

Palm Beach County's annual heart walk drew around 12,000 people Saturday morning and raised more than $1 million for the fight against heart disease.

But raising money wasn't the only goal. At the event, firefighters offered CPR training to more than a thousand people. Doctors also provided blood pressure screenings. The idea is to help prevent heart disease in the Palm Beach County community.

"High blood pressure is called a silent killer," said Dr. Ade Bamgboye, who specializes in adult health at Wellington Regional Medical Center. "You never know until the damage is done, so screening is of the utmost importance."

Dr. Bamgboye says every year, doctors who volunteer to do screenings at the heart walk find people who have high blood pressure and wouldn't have known otherwise.

"We get people who come in who don't usually come in for screenings or to the hospital or have checks with their primary care physicians," Dr. Bamgboye said. "We get a chance to educate and enlighten them."

WPTV is a media sponsor of the Palm Beach County Heart Walk. News anchor and reporter Mike Trim emceed the event.