Nearly 20K people participate in the First Coast Heart Walk for heart disease, stroke research

Nearly 20,000 people participated in the First Coast Heart Walk. (WJXT, Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX - All rights reserved.)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Nearly 20,000 people participated in the First Coast Heart Walk on Saturday to fund research for those affected by heart disease and stroke.

RELATED: News4JAX teams up with First Coast Heart Walk at Jacksonville Fairgrounds

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Olivia Bruce and Caitlin Brunell with the American Heart Association said walkers do it as survivors, loved ones, or just participants getting their big hearts pumping. And for Bruce, she personally had an ASD and VSD repair as an infant.

“Along with many others here, I proudly wear my scar as a badge of honor,” Bruce said. “We know that the statistics we face in our fight against heart disease and stroke are staggering, and many of those numbers are personal to myself, but also the nearly 20,000 that are here today.”

American Heart Association (Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX - All rights reserved.)

Nearly three out of four cardiac arrests happen in the home, and it’s all about supporting people today.

Blake Hunter said he’s been doing the walk for 10 years and he turns 12 in 10 days.

“I have truncus arteriosus. I was diagnosed at 30 hours old, first heart surgery at nine days old,” Hunter said.

Blake Hunter, 12, said he's been doing the Heart Walk for 10 years. (Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX - All rights reserved.)

Hunter continues to share his message with the world, encouraging others to keep marching to the beat of the drum.

“We all go in challenges on days like this, but we can overtake them,” Hunter said.

FAST acronym for recognizing a stroke. (Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX - All rights reserved.)

The American Heart Association has an acronym to help spot signs of a stroke FAST:

  • Face drooping
  • Arm weakness
  • Speech difficulty
  • Time to call 911

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