FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 24, 2017
Contact: Sarah Bradshaw-Colomello, Manager, Public and Community Affairs
Phone: O: 845-871-1720 C: 914-474-7332
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.health-quest.org
Health Quest brings MEGA Heart to Poughkeepsie Galleria to raise awareness
Poughkeepsie — Step inside a huge human heart and learn what makes you tick at Health Quest’s MEGA Heart event from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 19, at the Poughkeepsie Galleria, 2001 South Road, Poughkeepsie.
“Our heart is a fascinating organ. We can feel it pumping away, but most don’t really comprehend what the heart does,” said Dr. Daniel O’Dea, vice president of cardiovascular services at Health Quest. “The MEGA heart offers an up-close, exciting window inside the body, so we can learn how to best take care of ourselves.”
To promote Heart Month and heart-healthy habits, Vassar Brothers Medical Center and The Heart Center, a division of Hudson Valley Cardiovascular Practice, P.C., will bring this interactive, walk-through exhibit that stretches 26 feet long, 13 feet tall and 15 feet wide to the mall’s Center Court. Along with the MEGA Heart, the event will also offer family-friendly and wellness activities.
Vassar Brothers and The Heart Center are part of LaGrangeville-headquartered Health Quest Systems Inc., a nonprofit that provides health services in the Hudson Valley.
Visitors to the MEGA Heart will enter the giant exhibit through the largest vein that feeds the heart and exit through the aorta, the largest artery that leaves the heart. Along the way, they will learn about this very important muscle and observe examples of heart disease, America’s No. 1 killer.
Attendees can also enjoy a complimentary chair massage, practice CPR and use an automated external defibrillator on a mannequin, jump rope for prizes, have medications reviewed by a pharmacist, take a heart health quiz, speak to a nutritionist and more.
No reservations are required and there is no cost. To learn more about the event, visit www.healthquest.org/MEGAheart or email [email protected]g (TTY 800-421-1220). For more information about the MEGA Heart, visit medicalinflatables.com.
Did You Know?
- Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of adults in the United States.
- In the United States, someone has a heart attack every 34 seconds.
- Each minute, someone in the United States dies from a heart disease-related event.
- It takes only 60 seconds for the heart to pump your entire supply of blood, about five quarts, through the body.
- In the average lifetime, the heart beats approximately 2.5 billion times.
- Your system of blood vessels — arteries, veins and capillaries — is more than 60,000 miles long. That’s more than enough to go around the world twice.
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Photo caption: Medical Inflatables’ MEGA Heart is a portable, inflatable, walk-through heart exhibit. It provides visitors with a highly interactive, educational experience about heart health. (courtesy photo)