Renton’s Heart Month campaign is an annual effort throughout the month of February to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. The 2016 campaign promotes healthy lives free of heart disease throughout the community, and especially in schools.

In its 11th year, the campaign aims to reduce the rate of uncontrolled high blood pressure, coronary disease, and stroke by 25 percent, and eliminate the growth of obesity and diabetes.

In partnership with the Renton School District, emergency medical technicians will visit all Renton schools to provide health screenings and talk about steps people can take to improve health. The month-long effort will reach more students than before.

“We plan to hit every school, giving more than 3,000 kids direct contact with the fire department,” Fire Chief Mark Peterson said in a press release. “We can have the biggest impact on youth because they have the longest life ahead of them.”

In addition, the city has partnered with Valley Medical Center on a media campaign and formed partnerships with several national organizations, including the regional chapter of the American Heart Association, the Hope Heart Institute and the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health. Since the campaign’s inception, more than 58,000 people have had blood pressure and blood sugar levels screened, with more than 10,000 citizens receiving alerts for elevated results.

“I encourage residents to help reduce the risks of heart disease by taking advantage of the free screenings that are being made available as part of our month-long promotion,” said Peterson. “The screenings only take a couple of minutes, but those minutes could save your life.”