Gabby Fulst of Martins Ferry holds “Fe Fe” during the 2025 Ohio Valley Heart Walk, which took place Thursday night at Wheeling Park. The event attracted more than 300 walkers and raised in excess of $61,000. Photo by Joselyn King

WHEELING — Beth Kuhn advises people to listen to their bodies when it comes to predicting and fighting heart disease, but she is also the first to admit that too often, the symptoms are silent.

Kuhn, an employee of WesBanco, served as chair of the 2025 Ohio Valley Heart Walk, which took place Thursday night at Wheeling Park. A rainy morning leading to a sunny evening attracted more than 300 walkers to the event, which raised in excess of $61,000 to educate the public about strokes and heart disease.

Normally, between 200 and 250 supporters participate in the walk, according to Kuhn, and the number of participants Thursday was the highest ever. The money raised also topped past years, according to organizers.

Kuhn – then 42 – recounted how just a few days before Christmas in 2023, she suffered a stroke while doing last-minute shopping at The Highlands. Her left hand went numb, and she dropped her purse in the parking lot. Her husband recognized the signs of a stroke and quickly took her to their car to get her to a hospital.

He contacted a healthcare worker he knew who worked at WVU Medicine Reynolds Memorial Hospital, and the staff there was ready and waiting for her when they arrived. They gave her medication to break up the blood clot that caused her symptoms and prepared her for transport to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, Kuhn continued.

But she soon began to show signs of anaphylactic shock.

“Thanks to the fast action of the Reynolds Memorial Staff, I was stabilized and (taken by medical helicopter) to Morgantown,” Kuhn said. “I spent a week in recovery.”

She underwent in-patient therapy at Trinity Health System in Steubenville, and then outpatient therapy back at Reynolds.

“I stand here today – a little over a year and half later – filled with gratitude for my family, friends, my WesBanco family and everyone else who supported me in this journey. And a huge thank you to WVU Medicine-Reynolds for saving my life,” Kuhn said.

Her participation in the heart walk actually predates her stroke. She walked “for years” prior to her own health issues in honor of her grandfather, who had heart problems.

Kuhn noted that she had had “no warning signs at all” leading up to her stroke, and that she had always had “a very healthy background.”

She added that doctors attributed her sound recovery to her younger age and strong physical system.

Kuhn advises people to “eat heart healthy” and avoid sweets such as candy.

Lauren Thomas, development director for the American Heart Association, said heart walks also help to bring people together for a common cause.

“I hope people feel a sense of community, and that survivors are not alone,” she said. “They have a support system right here in the Ohio Valley. Also, I hope people take something away that keeps them from having a heart condition or stroke.

“I just want them to have joy coming to an event like this,” Thomas added.