Gill Heart Institute Offers 'Walk with a Doc' Program

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 29, 2014) --   UK HealthCare's Gill Heart Institute is offering an innovative, fun and free exercise program. 

Walk with a Doc, a program brought to UK and led by Dr. Alison Bailey, is a bi-weekly campaign that encourages physical activity and reverses the consequences of a sedentary lifestyle. Each time the group meets, a physician will share information about exercise and heart health before the 30-minute walk begins.  The next session is set for noon on May 30.

Staff from UK HealthCare's Gill Heart Institute will be on hand to take blood pressures and answer questions. The program is free and open to anyone interested in improving his or her health and well-being. 

"There are countless physical activities to choose from, but walking is a simple and inexpensive change you can make to improve your health," Bailey said. "Since the thought of being alone can be enough to keep some people from walking, finding a group to walk with can be enough incentive to maintain an active walking schedule."

Bailey notes that walking for at least 30 minutes a day can help improve your blood pressure and blood sugar levels, reduce cholesterol, lower your risk for diabetes, colon cancer, breast cancer, osteoporosis, and possibly depression.

"Walking is low impact and therefore easier on the joints than running. It is safe – with a doctor’s approval – for people with orthopedic ailments, heart conditions, and those who are more than 20 percent overweight," Bailey says.  

In fact, recent research comparing runners and walkers demonstrated that moderate-intensity walking and vigorous-intensity running resulted in similar reductions in risk for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes, all of which are significant risk factors for coronary artery disease and stroke, said Bailey.

Walk with a Doc was created by Dr. David Sabgir, a board-certified cardiologist who practices with Mount Carmel Clinical Cardiovascular Specialists at Mount Carmel St. Ann's, Ohio. The missionis  to encourage healthy physical activity in people of all ages and reverse the consequences of a sedentary lifestyle to improve the health and well-being of the country.  Currently, Walk with a Doc programs are offered in 33 states across the U.S.

Upcoming dates for the Walk with a Doc program are (weather permitting): noon, May 30 at the corner of Rose Street and Washington Avenue; 6:30 p.m., June 12, UK Arboretum; noon, June 27, corner of Rose Street and Washington Avenue; 6:30 p.m., July 10, UK Arboretum; and 6:30 p.m., July 31, UK Arboretum.  For more information, go to www.uky.edu/HR/wellness/doc or call 859-257-WELL (9355).