AstraZeneca PLC Joins Local Walking Movement
PHOENIX, March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- AstraZeneca is fighting against sedentary lifestyles by participating in the American Heart Association (AHA)'s Start! movement in Phoenix to promote walking and other healthy habits in the workplace. AstraZeneca employees in Phoenix have formed a Start! "walkforce" team to participate in today's Phoenix Start! Heart Walk in Tempe Beach Park. Start! encourages Americans and their employers to live longer, stronger and healthier lives by engaging in regular physical activity. AstraZeneca, with U.S. headquarters in Wilmington, DE, is one of three national sponsors of Start! and has been recognized as a leader for supporting innovative corporate wellness initiatives.
"Since cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Arizona, we are building on AstraZeneca's strong legacy in cardiovascular treatments by leading this new movement to help the Phoenix community get moving," said Phil Durchslag, Director of AstraZeneca's West Regional Business Center and AstraZeneca's Phoenix Start! leader. "As a healthcare company dedicated to improving the lives of people all over the world, the job starts here at home with our own employees. We invest in workplace programs, like Start! because they are designed to help improve the health of our employees, their families and our local community. We challenge other corporations in the Greater Phoenix area to join us as part of the Start! movement and make a commitment to wellness."
AstraZeneca is also the national sponsor of the Create Hope Village, part of the Heart Healthy Festival following the Phoenix Start! Heart Walk. The exhibit provides walkers with an interactive and personalized health experience, offers free blood pressure and cholesterol screenings, educational health information, and tools to promote a healthier lifestyle.
AstraZeneca encourages employees to incorporate exercise into their workday with lunch time walking programs and access to onsite fitness facilities. At its U.S. headquarters, the company has built indoor and outdoor walking paths and offers employees nutritious food options in the cafeterias on campus, as well as the availability of nutrition counselors.
Heart disease is the number-one killer in Arizona and the United States, and physical inactivity doubles a person's heart disease risk.(1,2) Walking is one of the simplest ways people can improve their heart health -- it's free, it has the lowest drop-out rate of any physical activity and just one hour a day can add two hours to a person's life.(3) Moreover, American companies pay $225.8 billion each year in health-related productivity losses. Incorporating walking into every work day can help change these alarming statistics, while also helping contain rising health care costs.
About Start!
Start! Walking Program is the American Heart Association's ground-breaking national movement that calls on all Americans and their employers to create a culture of physical activity and health in order to live longer, healthier lives. Through the Start! Fit-Friendly Companies Recognition Program, AHA recognizes employers who champion the health of their employees and work to create a culture of physical activity and health in the workplace. The program recognizes and rewards companies for progressive leadership and for making the health and wellness of their staff a priority. The program is also meant to encourage other companies to participate and demonstrate similar physical activity practices for their employees. For a list of recognized companies, visit http://www.americanheart.org/start.
About AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. It is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of $26.47 billion and leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory, oncology and infection products. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global) as well as the FTSE4Good Index.
In the United States, AstraZeneca is a $12.44 billion healthcare business with more than 12,000 employees. For nearly three decades, AstraZeneca has offered drug assistance programs side by side with its medicines, and over the past five years, has provided over $3 billion in savings to more than 1 million patients throughout the US and Puerto Rico. AstraZeneca has been named one of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" by Working Mother magazine and is the only large pharmaceutical company named to FORTUNE magazine's 2007 list of "100 Best Companies to Work For." In 2006, for the fifth consecutive year, Science magazine named AstraZeneca a "Top Employer" on its ranking of the world's most respected biopharmaceutical employers.
To join AstraZeneca and the American Heart Association for the Phoenix Start! Heart Walk, register online at http://www.phoenixheartwalk.org. To learn more about AstraZeneca, visit http://www.astrazeneca-us.com.
(1) Heart Disease Facts: American Heart Association Web site, http://www.americanheart.org accessed on 11.19.06 (2) Arizona Cardiovascular Disease State Plan: Arizona Department of Health Web site, http://www.azdhs.gov accessed on 2.7.06 (3) Benefits of Walking: American Heart Association Start! Web site http://www.americanheart.org/start accessed on 11.18.06
AstraZenecaCONTACT: Michele Pelkowski, +1-302-885-4055,michele.pelkowski@astrazeneca.com, or Adrienne Maxwell, +1-302-885-1872,adrienne.maxwell@astrazeneca.com, both of AstraZeneca