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Symetra and WM Financial Services join forces to fight Heart Disease

As the signature fundraising event for the American Heart Association, the Heart Walk promotes physical activity and heart-healthy living in a fun family environment. This year 1 million walkers across the country will participate in more than 600 events to help save lives from the No. 1 and No. 3 killers in the United States: heart disease and stroke.

WM Financial Services (WMFS) and Symetra Financial employees are collaborating to defeat these leading killers, proving that two organizations are better than one in making a difference. Eleven teams made up of WMFS and Symetra employees will walk in the Heart Walk at Qwest Field on Saturday, October 7, 2006.

WMFS’ Sandy Cavanaugh and Symetra’s CEO Randy Talbot encouraged their respective employees to participate. They also stressed how working together in business is only part of the good that these two companies can do. Joining together in the Heart Walk helps everyone.

Facts about Heart Disease

• Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S.
• The term "heart failure" can be frightening. It does not mean the heart has "failed" or stopped working. It means the heart does not pump as well as it should.
• Heart failure is a major health problem in the U.S., Nearly 5 million Americans are living with heart failure and 550,000 new cases are diagnosed each year¹.
• About 30% of all deaths from heart disease in the U.S. are directly related to cigarette smoking.
• A sedentary (inactive) lifestyle is one of the top risk factors for heart disease.

Risk Factors for Heart Disease

There are several risk factors for heart disease; some are controllable, others are not.

Factors you can’t control:

• Gender (i.e., male)
• Older age
• Family history of heart disease
• Post-menopausal
• Race (African Americans, American Indians, and Mexican Americans are more likely to have heart disease than Caucasians)

Factors you can control:

• Smoking
• High LDL ("bad" cholesterol) and low HDL ("good" cholesterol)
• Uncontrolled hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Physical inactivity
• Obesity (more than 20% over ideal body weight)
• Uncontrolled diabetes
• High C-reactive protein
• Uncontrolled stress and anger

To learn more about heart disease, visit www.americanheart.org.

¹ Source - http://www.americanheart.org, September 2006