VALLEY HEART RUN HELPS INFORM WOMEN OF RISKS.

Byline: Leilani Albano Daily News Staff Writer

Pat Zaid, who joined more than 2,500 participants Sunday in the 13th annual American Heart Run and Walk in Woodland Hills, had a special message for women.

``The good news is, (heart disease) can be reversed,'' said Zaid, who had a heart attack when she was 45 and became an avid volunteer for the American Heart Association, which organized the Heart Run.

Zaid, now 52, stressed that it is important for health care workers and women to recognize that they can run as much risk as men of developing heart disease.

According to Heart Run organizers, coronary heart disease is the No. 1 killer of American women.

``We want to get the word out: Women get heart disease as well,'' said Alana Moceri, a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association.

The all-day event that featured a corporate race competition, food, prizes and health screenings was expected to raise more than $100,000 for research and heart-health education, officials said.

Expecting a continuance of stormy weather, many runners and walkers showed up in running tights and rain jackets, while parents wrapped their babies riding jogger strollers with heavy blankets. Coffee drinkers lined up at complimentary booths to keep warm in the chilly morning weather.

But skies were mostly clear for the event.

``I wouldn't have missed this for anything,'' said 70-year-old walk participant Pat Dawson of Encino.

Part of the reason heart problems in women go undetected is because some doctors still base their medical screenings on male patients, Moceri said.

Unlike men, who will ordinarily experience a squeezing pain in the chest at the onset of a heart attack, many women will experience a shortness of breath, and pain in either arm, she said.

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1) Participants kick into gear at the start of Sunday's heart run.

(2) Artie Southam, with his daughter, Molly, 6, and a bumble bee in tow, crosses the finish line during the American Heart Run and Walk in Woodland Hills on Sunday.

Gus Ruelas/Daily News