Hundreds of walkers convened Sept. 19 on the Riverside Lawn of the Spokane Convention Center for the Washington Heart and Stroke Walk. The event combined survivor recognition, community education and fundraising to support the American Heart Association’s work on cardiovascular and brain health. Organizers offered Hands-Only CPR instruction during the event as one strategy to increase bystander readiness and improve out-of-hospital cardiac arrest outcomes.
The release cites the American Heart Association estimate that roughly 436,000 Americans die from cardiac arrest each year, with most events happening outside hospital settings. Bystander CPR has been shown to substantially increase a victim’s chance of survival—potentially doubling or tripling it—yet fewer than half of cardiac arrest victims currently receive CPR from bystanders. The Association frames community CPR training, including Hands-Only CPR education provided at events like the Heart and Stroke Walk, as a direct response to this preparedness gap.
Spokane Valley cardiac arrest survivor Shelly Copeland participated in the program by beginning a ceremonial drumbeat intended to symbolize the collective heartbeat of survivors and participants. Copeland credits her survival to co-workers who immediately initiated CPR after she collapsed while teaching. After the opening program, the drum was brought to the finish line, where survivors of heart disease and stroke were invited to strike it in a celebratory gesture acknowledging their journeys.
The American Heart Association referenced its 2024 CPR Perceptions Survey to describe public confidence in performing CPR. The survey found that 39% of respondents reported feeling “extremely confident” or “very confident” in their ability to perform CPR—an increase from 33% in 2021. The Association interprets this change as representing approximately 17.7 million more adults reporting high confidence in CPR skills. Despite that improvement, 61% of respondents still do not report high confidence to act during a cardiac emergency, underlining the continued need for training, outreach and awareness efforts.
Heart Walk™ is described as the American Heart Association’s largest community-facing initiative. The program reaches more than 10 million people nationwide each year and uses fundraising, community education and corporate engagement to pursue multiple goals: expand access to CPR training, increase bystander preparedness, raise funds for cardiovascular research and advance equitable health outcomes. The Spokane event was positioned as part of that broader national effort to build community capacity to respond to cardiac emergencies and to support research and local impact initiatives.
The Washington Heart and Stroke Walk in Spokane was supported locally by Providence Health Plan, Delta Dental of Washington, Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, Sound Physicians and MultiCare Health System. Attendees and community members were directed to WashingtonHeartWalk.org for resources on learning Hands-Only CPR or making donations to support the American Heart Association’s work.
The release includes a brief organizational overview noting the American Heart Association’s century-long role as a leading source of heart and stroke information, its support from more than 35 million volunteers globally and its commitment to funding research, advocating for public health and providing resources to save and improve lives affected by cardiovascular disease and stroke. It also reiterates the Association’s focus on implementing science-, policy- and care-based solutions to advance health and equity.
Media contacts listed in the release were Lily Gordon (lily.gordon@heart.org) and Valerie Koch (valerie.koch@heart.org). For public inquiries, the release provided the phone number 1-800-AHA-USA1 (242-8721) and directed readers to heart.org and stroke.org for additional information. The release also noted that event photos and videos are available for download and requested that photo credit be given to the American Heart Association.
Editors’ note: The article reported on the Spokane Heart and Stroke Walk, event programming and survey findings as presented in the American Heart Association news release. No additional data, quotations or outcomes beyond what the source provided were added here.