Melissa Ziebell, then 33, collapsed into cardiac arrest one mile from the finish line of the Paris Half Marathon. Race volunteers immediately performed CPR and used an AED to provide lifesaving shocks until paramedics arrived. At the hospital she was found to have an undiagnosed congenital heart defect. A decade after the event, Ziebell returned to Paris and completed the Half Marathon. Now a new mother — she welcomed her first child four months ago — Ziebell will symbolically lead the Los Angeles Heart Walk by beating the ceremonial drum to mark the heartbeat she continues to have because bystanders intervened.
The American Heart Association highlights that more than 350,000 people in the United States experience cardiac arrest outside a hospital each year, and most do not survive. Immediate CPR can double or triple a cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival, yet fewer than half of victims receive CPR from bystanders. These statistics underpin the AHA’s emphasis on expanding public training so more community members are prepared to act during an emergency. The Heart Walk promotes accessible training and public awareness of basic lifesaving skills such as Hands-Only CPR and how to use an AED.
“Building a Nation of Lifesavers” is a central focus of the Los Angeles Heart Walk. The AHA frames the event as a community-driven effort to teach CPR broadly, fund research, and drive equitable health initiatives. The Los Angeles Heart Walk aims to bring together employers, community groups and individuals to increase CPR knowledge and to create a network of people able to respond to cardiac emergencies outside hospitals — in homes, workplaces and public spaces.
The article stresses that the Heart Walk is the American Heart Association’s largest event to convene communities around heart and brain health. Through fundraising and corporate engagement, the walk supports education programs, prevention initiatives and research intended to reduce deaths from cardiovascular disease and stroke.
The Los Angeles Heart Walk is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena. The event offers family-friendly programming and multiple opportunities for participants to learn or refresh lifesaving skills on site. Activities highlighted include a Kids Corner for families, Survivor Central to recognize heart disease and stroke survivors, a Heart Walk selfie station, and Hands-Only CPR demonstrations.
Participants can honor loved ones lost to cardiovascular disease, celebrate survivors and practice simple emergency response skills that can make a difference in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The AHA provides event registration and information through HeartWalkLA.org.
David Morgan, chief operating officer at UCLA West Valley Medical Center and the volunteer chair for the 2026 Los Angeles Heart Walk, emphasizes the importance of community CPR training. Morgan noted that most cardiac emergencies occur outside hospitals and that expanding public knowledge of CPR will save lives. He described the Heart Walk as an opportunity to unite organizations across Greater Los Angeles around a shared purpose: advancing research, education and prevention.
Morgan, who lost his father to a heart attack and experienced a personal heart health scare earlier this year, encouraged participation and fundraising by underscoring that every step and every dollar advances the AHA’s mission. The article names UCLA Health and Keck Medicine of USC as sponsors of the Los Angeles Heart Walk.
The piece concludes with an overview of the American Heart Association’s mission and resources. The AHA positions itself as a longstanding source of heart and stroke information, dedicated to promoting equitable health in all communities, funding research, advocating for public health and delivering educational programs. Contact information for media and public inquiries is provided, along with links to AHA Southern California social channels and a Spanish-language version of the story.
For event registration and further details about the Greater Los Angeles Heart and Stroke Walk, the article directs readers to HeartWalkLA.org. Media contacts named in the source are Kristine Kelly, Cynthia Pleitez and Elena de la Cruz; a public inquiries phone number (1-800-AHA-USA1) is also listed in the source.