- [Voiceover] It's Mike Precker in Dallas with the
American Heart Association.
We're really honored to have you share some time
with us today to talk about Breakaway for Heart Disease and
the CycleNation program of the American Heart Association.
But as a football fan when you're watching a game
and you see a player on the field riding a bike you think,
uh oh, this is no good.
He's staying loose or he got hurt,
or something bad has happened.
This is different I hope.
- Oh yeah, by far, you know, this is good for you.
These bikes are good for you,
and the Breakaway from Heart Disease campaign
has been fun for us to be a part of.
It's got a great partnership between Amgen,
American Heart Association and Schwinn just to educate
people on heart disease and to help them get active
through cycling and we're happy to be a part of that.
- [Voiceover] I guess for you both it's personal.
- Yes, my father had a quadruple bypass
at the age of 59 and passed away from a massive heart attack
at 60, so it does become personal and it's important too
for us to be able to educate our children.
They're getting it from both sides with Joe's history
and all too, and that's why we're really happy to partner up
with Amgen and the American Heart Association and Schwinn
to bring awareness to everybody that there are ways
that they can prevent heart disease in their families.
- [Voiceover] Is it hard for people to grasp that someone
who's been so athletic his whole life has to battle
with these problems as well?
- Well I would hope that it would be the opposite,
I hope that it would make people think that, well,
if it can happen there it can happen to anyone.
And that's part of the message we're trying to get
out there, this disease is not particular.
You know, it attacks anyone and sometimes at early ages.
Earlier than we all think, it was earlier for me than
I thought I would be diagnosed with two of the risk factors
in high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
So we just need people to get out there
and get with their doctor.
- [Voiceover] So when you hit this realization,
what did you do to make it better?
- Well, I had to change my, obviously I'm like everyone
or a lot of people in this country.
Not only do I like to eat things that are bad for me,
I like to eat a lot of it, or did.
And so those things had to change and I think the hardest
thing to do is try to change your diet,
and the thing that was successful for me was not to
cut things out immediately, but to cut down the amount
of food I was eating.
And then you start realizing you don't really need
that much food, and then sometimes I was saying wow,
I don't really even need to have that steak today,
or that little piece of meat or whatever it might be and you
start making healthier decisions as you go along.
That was an easier method for me.
- [Voiceover] Getting on a bike can't hurt either--
- [Man] Yeah, that's one of the things I've been unfortunate
about in my career is that I'm stuck on low-impact to
no-impact type exercises, so spent a lot of time
on bikes and stationary bikes.
- [Voiceover] Must be more fun now
when you've got a helmet on
and you're actually seeing scenery and not just
staying in place.
- Yeah, but it's just as dangerous.
- [Voiceover] That's a different story for a different day.
- Yeah.
- [Voiceover] So people can get involved with this
on their website, make a little money for the
American Heart Association.
- That's right, every time somebody
triggers a picture, or logging their miles,
or becomes active through cycling, it triggers a donation
to the American Heart Association,
and it also allows them to be participants in
possibly winning two Schwinn bikes.
So we encourage everybody to go there, but more for
their education and to learn how to combat the disease,
but also be active and change their habits.
More heart healthy.
- [Voiceover] This is CPR month, but this is an open-ended
thing for everybody.
You don't do it for a month and stop,
you make a lifestyle change.
- Preventing heart disease is all about
making choices in how you eat and how you move,
and it's a forever deal, it's not just for a month.
It's really about dealing with the risk factors
of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol,
diabetes, obesity, sedentary lifestyle and also
knowing your family history.
But making those choices of exercise and diet
are lifetime choices, and 80% of the time,
heart disease is preventable.
- [Voiceover] And wear a helmet while you're at it, right?
That should be the other thing.
- Absolutely, absolutely.
- Try not to fall.
- [Voiceover] Tell me the website again,
let's make sure people remember this.
- BreakawayFromHeartDisease.com
- [Voiceover] That's pretty simple.
Okay, anything I forgot to mention or you'd like to add?
I sure appreciate your time today.
- I think we're all good, thank you for your time,
we appreciate your help.
- [Voiceover] Thank you, hope we'll see you in Dallas.
- Alright, you bet.
I'll wait 'til the weather clears, though.
- [Voiceover] It could be awhile.
Have a great day, thank you so much!
- [All] Thank you.
- Take care.