Courtesy of Vestavia Hills City Schools
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, but the risks are not isolated to adults.
The American Heart Association reports that one in three children is overweight or obese, and that children as young as 3 years old can show indicators of heart disease later in life. Children can even experience elevated levels of cholesterol and high blood pressure, and young teens with high triglyceride levels have even been found to have arteries in the same shape as a 45-year-old.
“Cardiovascular diseases are the No. 1 killer of Alabama children,” said Brittany Price, Birmingham youth marketing director for AHA.
One of the leading reasons is the lack of physical activity in most kids’ daily schedule.
The statistics are sobering, but in 1979, the association launched a national campaign to get kids moving while raising money for research: Jump Rope for Heart.
In its almost 40-year history, Jump Rope for Heart has raised millions of dollars for the association’s efforts to make America healthier, and it has taught millions of kids healthy habits along the way.
“Jump Rope for Heart creates heart healthy habits early on and encourages students to pass along the American Heart Association’s healthy messages to friends and family,” Price said.
Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights physical education teacher Jeremy Andrews said students look forward to the event each year.
“They’re excited about it,” he said.
From Jan. 17 to Jan. 27, VHECH students will not only be fundraising, but they will also learn about the anatomy of the heart, and why it is important to make healthy choices.
“And then we get them moving,” Andrews said.
Students in kindergarten through second grade will participate in the traditional Jump Rope for Heart event, learning jump roping skills and doing jump-roping activities during class. The older students, third through fifth grade, will be participating in Hoops for Heart, which operates under the same model, but focuses on basketball skills rather than jump roping.
This will be VHECH’s second year to have a split event, and Andrews said he expects the school to once again be recognized as a top fundraiser in the area.
For Andrews, fighting heart disease is personal, he said.
Andrews’ dad passed away around Christmas 2013 from a heart attack, so the association’s mission is close to him.
“They get to see that passion,” he said of his students.
Students also are asked to have conversations with their parents about their own family members’ experiences with heart disease, so they have a personal motivation to get healthy.
“I think that’s a lot of the benefit of this program; they start those conversations with their parents,” he said.
The program also will recognize local heart disease and stroke survivors on “Heart Walls,” which Price said puts even more faces to the problem, and it helps motivate kids to raise money and make their own healthy choices.
In addition to VHECH, Central, East and Liberty Park will be hosting events, and Pizitz Middle School will be having a Hoops for Heart program.
Even if residents don’t have a student at a participating school, donations can still be made toward the fundraising efforts.
“It becomes an entire community thing,” Andrews said.
To donate or find out more about Jump Rope for Heart and Hoops for Heart, go to heart.org/jump and search for one of Vestavia’s schools.
