SportMed RunWalk

hearts-in-training (HIT) is a health promotion initiative developed by SportMedBC and the Healthy Heart Society of British Columbia. In its pilot year (2006), HIT provided a cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor screening and education opportunity for 603 Sun Run InTraining program participants.

In 2007, there were 656 participants, including 24 First Nations participants.

Financial support for the program was provided by ActNow BC and Pfizer Canada. The program was officially launched by Premier Gordon Campbell at a press conference in January 2006 and supported in 2007 by the Honorable Gordon Hogg, Minister of Act Now.

The goal of HIT was to provide participants in the Sun Run InTraining program with personal insight about the heart health benefits of regular exercise to encourage them to maintain an active lifestyle after they complete the Vancouver Sun Run.

Participants enrolled in HIT receive a comprehensive cardiovascular risk assessment plus glucose screening for diabetes at the start of their Sun Run InTraining program in January and then again thirteen weeks later upon completion of The Vancouver Sun Run at the end of April.

These BEFORE and AFTER assessments provided participants with a written record of their personal heart health metrics and allowed most participants to see tangible improvements (in terms of modifiable risk indicators) achieved as a result of engaging in regular physical activity. The expectation was that participants would learn how physical activity could decrease their CVD risk factors, and this awareness would encourage them to lead more physically active lives.

HIT also provided a unique research opportunity for Dr. Darren Warburton of the Department of Experimental Medicine at the University of British Columbia. He joined the Healthy Heart Society and SportMedBC as part of the evaluation team to analyze data and access the impacts of the program with respect to lifestyle change. The anlysis of our data showed that over the course of a three-month period, HIT program participants underwent significant reductions in cardiovascular risk, and showed significant improvements in exercise participation rates, blood pressure, body mass index and waist girth measurement, all independent risk factors for CVD.

Overall, the response to HIT is exceptionally positive. Many participants were moved to tears when they realized that the thirteen weeks of effort led to significant changes in their personal health and cardiovascular risk profile.

hearts-in-training will unfortunately NOT be offered to Sun Run InTraining participants in 2009, but it will be implemented in the Honour Your Health program throughout the aboriginal communities across the province.