FAIRHOPE, Ala. - The Alabama Gulf Coast Heart Walk is returning to Foley this year after organizers decided the joint Baldwin-Mobile county event grew too large for the old venue. Instead of a one-mile walk at Five Rivers Delta Resource Center in Spanish Fort, this year will feature a three-mile walk along the rose trail at Foley’s Heritage Park Oct. 8, according to organizers.

Becky Ginn, vice president of development at the American Heart Association, told a small group of community leaders at a breakfast in Fairhope Wednesday that the move would allow for more space and resources.

“If you’ve been to Five Rivers you know it is a beautiful and convenient location but it also has its limitations,” Ginn said. “The Baldwin County Heart Walk was successful for many years on its own and we are excited to return it to Foley,” she said.

Ginn is asking that business owners and community organizations name “company leaders” by June 17 to assemble heart walk teams of 10 people or less with one team leader. Teams will have until the day of the event to raise a total of $50,000 – a financial goal that Ginn said would help “advance the mission of building healthier lives free from cardiovascular disease and the risk of stroke.”

David Horton, manager of public affairs at Riviera Utilities, has headed a heart walk team at his company that has raised nearly $10,000 since 2007. Horton told the audience Wednesday that because heart disease is so prevalent, the event couldn’t be more important.

“I have been an advocate for heart health since my mother succumbed to a heart attack in 1969,” Horton said. “If she were to have the same problem today, she would probably have survived.”

Horton went on to relate the story of his own heart surgery, when doctors inserted two stents in his aorta to relieve the pressure of an 85 percent blockage. Eight years ago, prior to the procedure, Horton said he couldn’t walk from his office to his car without taking a break to allow the circulation to flow to his hips and legs.

“After I got out of the hospital, I felt like an 18-year-old again,” Horton said. “The strides that have been made in the treatment of heart ailments has been remarkable.”

Ginn said heart disease is 93 percent preventable, so “it’s a shame that more than one in two adults will be affected during their lifetime. Just 30 minutes of exercise three times a week can lower your risk by 75 percent.” Ginn lost her own father in January to congestive heart failure and will be walking in his memory this year.

For more information about the Alabama Gulf Coast Heart Walk, including how you can start a team within your company or organization, call Ashley Spaulding at 251-648-8869 or email ashley.spaulding@heart.org.