AEHA 2005 Pfizer SHAPE-a-thon called the start of a new era in promoting preventive cardiology

ORLANDO, January 27, 2005 - The Association for Eradication of Heart Attack (AEHA) has selected Orlando to host the first-ever AEHA SHAPE-a-thon. The walk/run event will promote heart attack prevention and include onsite cardiovascular screening.

The first AEHA SHAPE-a-thon, sponsored by Pfizer, will be held in conjunction with the Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology (ACC). The AEHA 2005 Pfizer SHAPE-a-thon is a unique run/walk event during which participants will have their risk of heart attack assessed through cardiovascular screening tests.

When:   Saturday, March 5, 2005
              Registration opens at 5:00 p.m. Friday and 6:00 a.m. Saturday 
              Walk/Run starts at 7:00 a.m.
 
Where:  Registration at Double Tree Castle Hotel, 8629 International Dr.
               Race start at Turkey Lake Park off of S. Hiawassee Road
               Orlando, Florida

SHAPE stands for Screening for Heart Attack Prevention and Education. Recently AEHA, backed by world leaders in cardiology,  developed the National SHAPE Program as a new strategy for public cardiovascular screening for prevention of heart attacks. The AEHA SHAPE-a-thon will raise awareness about prevention of heart attack through on-site testing before and after the run/walk to identify those who are most vulnerable to a near future heart attack. The screening includes blood tests and noninvasive cardiovascular imaging.

The AEHA 2005 Pfizer SHAPE-a-thon includes fun runs of 10K and 5K and walks of 5K and 1K.

In the past 100 years, cardiovascular disease has been the number one killer in America. With over 1 million Americans suffering heart attacks each year, virtually every family has been touched by heart disease.

“This is an opportunity for those who are at risk and those whose family has been touched by the heart attack epidemic to show how committed we all are in this fight and to contribute to making heart attacks history," said Dr. Morteza Naghavi, founder and president of AEHA. “We are particularly excited to showcase heart attack screening tests in action at the AEHA 2005 Pfizer SHAPE-a-thon and plan to organize similar events in cities across America.”

The AEHA SHAPE Task Force comprised of world-renowned leaders in cardiology recently developed the National SHAPE Guidelines, which encourage all men age 45 and older and all women age 55 and older to undergo a comprehensive assessment of their vascular health to determine their individual risk of a near future heart attack. Every middle age American should know their risk of having a heart attack in the next 1-5 years.

Early bird registration is $25 before February 21. Pre-registration is $30 through March 4th. Those registering on Shape-a-thon Day will pay $35. Online registration is available at www.shape-a-thon.org. Those with questions can e-mail SHAPE-a-thon@aeha.org or call 407-265-8250.

About AEHA
Originated from the Texas Medical Center in Houston, the AEHA is a non-profit organization that promotes education and research related to mechanism, prevention, detection and treatment of heart attacks. The organization is committed to raising public awareness and research funding to support new developments that can lead to eradication of heart attack. The AEHA''s mission is to eradicate heart attacks before the end of the century. Additional information is available on the organization''s Web site at www.vp.org and www.AEHA.org.

About the SHAPE Task Force:
The following world-renowned cardiovascular specialists and researchers from around the world have agreed to participate in AEHA’s SHAPE initiative providing their expertise in various areas of cardiovascular science and technology to help prepare a comprehensive guideline for screening and prevention of heart attack.

###