Teen raises heart disease awareness

By Rebecca Lavoie
NH Mirror Contributor

There’s something Kristen Daley wants everyone to know: Heart disease is the leading killer among women.

Daley is a survivor, tapped to do this year’s Survivor’s Story speech at the Central New Hampshire American Heart Association Walk. The fact that a woman is speaking about the effect heart disease has had on her life is not unusual for this event.

(Courtesy Photo) Kristen Daley

What is unusual is that Kristen, alive and well after the discovery of her atrial septal defect and corrective surgery in 1994, is only 18 years old.

“This is something that I feel so strongly about that I knew I had to do something,” Daley said.

Her first “something” was a Heart Walk she organized at her high school that raised $800 for the Heart Association. John Stark Regional High School in Weare required a community service project, and Daley knew immediately what she had to do – give back to the cause that helped save her life.

“The walk was a starting point, but it set me on a path I know I’ll stay on my whole life,” she said.

Daley’s effort and passion did not go unnoticed by the American Heart Association. Ellen McCooey, communications director for New Hampshire and Vermont, was thrilled to meet Daley and feature her at this year’s event.

“Kristen is an extraordinary young woman,” McCooey said. “I can’t say enough about how she is the perfect person to tell the Survivor’s Story. She is articulate, thoughtful and passionate, a wonderful spokesperson for the cause.”

This year’s Heart Walk will take place on Sunday, May 4, at 10 a.m. in Manchester at the Union Leader. With both a 1-mile and 5-mile route, walkers of all ages and abilities are invited to gather sponsors and attend. The fundraising goal for this year’s event is $275,000, an amount that McCooey said will make a significant difference in the Heart Association’s mission.

“Since heart disease has such a profound impact on the lives of so many, we are proud to say that the money we raise at this event goes directly to the research and resources that help the cause,” she said, “right back to the people who benefit from the work we do.”

McCooey said the efforts of every walker and inspirational speakers such as Daley can make a huge difference.

“That’s why we do this,” she said. “We are shaping people’s lives – and hopefully saving some – with events like this.”

Daley agreed that her own life was changed by her experience with heart disease, and her subsequent recovery.

“I just got the clear from my doctor that I only need to be checked every other year … and that’s great, because now I have more time to share my story and tell people what I‘ve learned, that heart disease affects people of all ages,” she said. “It’s a killer, but it doesn’t have to be the end of the world. And I’ll never stop working so people know that survival is possible.”

For more information, visit www.CentralNHHeartWalk.org, call 518-1565, or e-mail the Heart Association events director Laurie Hambleton at laurie.hambleton@heart.org.