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PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - The American Heart Association is celebrating its centennial year, and thousands of people dressed in red walked the Portland waterfront to raise awareness and honor heart and stroke survivors on Saturday.

The 2024 Portland Heart and Stroke Walk marked more than a century of heart disease being the leading cause of death in the country.

Stroke is the second deadliest.

“The 100th anniversary of the American Heart Association - we are going to have over 2K people out here today to support the American Heart Association and really focusing on eliminating heart disease and stroke,” said Don Antonucci, president and CEO of Providence Health Plan.

Those statistics hit especially close to home for Dr. Nandita Gupta. Dr. Gupta is a cardiologist and was the survivor speaker at this year’s Heart Walk.

“We are excited to advocate for our own health and the health of our loved ones,” Dr. Gupta said.

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Dr. Gupta was diagnosed with congenital heart disease at age 1 and had open heart surgery by the age of 8. Her experience inspired her to become a cardiologist.

And to advocate for the health of others - specifically, communities disproportionality impacted by heart disease.

“The disproportionate burden is noted in women, particularly women of color, Hispanic and Black women,” Dr. Gupta said. “A lot of work lies ahead of us to close the gap in healthcare.”

Dr. Gupta notes that 80% of all heart disease is preventable.

Some of the steps we can take are eating healthy, avoiding tobacco and getting in your steps. Thousands of people, some accompanied by a furry friend, took that advice to heart - walking, and raising $1 million for the American Heart Association just this year.

“Be the best advocate you can be for your own health - go heart!” Dr. Gupta said.