Choose A Feel Good Alternative To Black Friday Shopping

PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- This Thanksgiving, after your second (or third) helpings, you can make yourself feel better and lose some of the extra calories you have just consumed by supporting a good cause.

If you're sick of the frenzy that ensues when Black Friday and the rest of the weekend rolls around with the endless lines of pushing and shoving, take the time instead to go out and get some exercise and do it for a charity.

While the typical pushups, crunches, and jumping jacks might be sufficient for any other workout session, Thanksgiving may call for more action. After a large Thanksgiving feast that can easily exceed 4,000 calories, the American Heart Association suggests that an unusually large meal quadruples the chance of having a heart condition within the next two hours. With the cardiac output of blood increased and diverted to the digestion of that turkey, potatoes, cranberries and pumpkin pie, it leaves other organs, including the heart and brain relatively deprived and more susceptible to stroke and heart disease.

In order to combat the rise of holiday heart conditions, tech executive Sean Maloney, is biking 60 miles to his Thanksgiving meal and another 60 miles back home. He is challenging his friends, family, others in the tech industry, and you to do the same.

If the thought of biking even 5 miles makes you tired, you can still do something good for your heart and health as well as charity. Contrast your heavy meal by going out with your family or friends for a walk, a run, or some touch football in the park. Take a picture of your game face and show the world what you have done to be healthy while encouraging others to get active as well. Finally, recall the spirit of Thanksgiving and donate to Heart Across America.

What is this all for? Sean's bike ride does not end with his Thanksgiving meal and neither should yours. He is just warming up for a 5000 mile bike ride criss-crossing America: entitled: Heart Across America (www.heartacrossamerica.org), to raise awareness and donations for heart disease and stroke prevention for the American Heart Association. Joining him for segments of the journey are top executives, stroke survivors, and other cycling enthusiasts across the country all believing in the same cause - stop preventable heart attacks and strokes. Sean will be stopping in cities throughout his rides to offer free ultrasound checks for arterial blockage, the cause of 70% of strokes and heart conditions.

With 80% of all strokes and heart attacks preventable, sharing your active weekend picture with heart disease and stroke prevention information can save lives. That's something to be thankful for.

Post your pictures to www.facebook.com/heartacrossamerica

Learn more, participate, or donate now at www.heartacrossamerica.org

About the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association

The American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association are devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke – America's No. 1 and No. 4 killers. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies, and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat these diseases. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-800-AHA-USA1, visit heart.org or call any of our offices around the country.

Media Contact:
Margaret Maloney: (650) 387-3739
Ivy Xu: (408) 207-6491
Miesha Hardy: (408) 606-5958

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SOURCE Heart Across America; The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association

Related Links

http://www.heartacrossamerica.org