Highlands hosts big heart
Feb. 23—ASHLAND — Ashland Alliance conducted Business After Hours on Thursday evening for local members to mingle and network.
Josh Blanton, City Commissioner and Alliance Member, said Business After Hours has been around long before his time and is all about networking and business-building.
The event is designed for those established, new in business or interested in business to get together and "show off the things we're proud of," Blanton said, "like the museum."
Highlands Museum and Discovery Center was the designated location and King's Daughters Medical Center hosted this month.
However, among the eager-to-learn and successful individuals, there was a standout this year that stole the show and the majority of the room — literally.
A large inflatable, anatomically correct heart stretched upward and outward as business men and women shook hands and caught up with new and old connections.
The heart, made from the same materials and engineering that you'd see at a child's birthday party, was large enough for a group of people to walk through and included all the chambers, atriums and other components that make for a functioning human heart.
Inside, Alex Ikhimokpa, a personal trainer and yoga instructor from Houston, Texas, was giving personal tours, outlining each section of the heart and function.
Along with informing the tour-goers of the difference between oxygenated and deoxygenated blood and the importance of the aortic valve, Ikhimokpa also told of what could go wrong if one doesn't take proper care of the heart.
From heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolisms and more, Ikhimokpa stressed the importance of regular screening and learning genetic heart health history to reduce and combat existing problems.
According to Ikhimokpa, not smoking, eating healthy, exercising, hydrating and catching the proper amount of sleep were key components in a healthy heart.
When asked the importance of living healthy, Ikhimpoka said it all goes back to setting the standard for children to understand the importance of taking care of their bodies and hearts.
(606) 326-2652 — mjepling@dailyindependent.com
