ROYAL PALM BEACH - Palms West Hospital had a pizza party in preparation of its paticipation in Saturday's American Heart Association's 2008 Palm Beach County Start! Heart Walk.

Participants stopped by the conference room to pick up their shirts, eat pizza and hand over money they have raised.

Palms West has been participating in the Heart Walk for at least 10 years.

Registered nurse at Palms West and a team captain for the event, Michelle Haddock, said one thing people can easily do to decrease their risk of heart disease is include more activities in their daily routines. She said Americans are prone to living sedentary lifestyles.

"I have a family history of heart disease...both of my grandfathers died from it," she said.

There will be two walks taking place Saturday in Palm Beach County. One will start at Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Road, in Boca Raton and the other at the Meyer Amphitheatre, 105 Evernia St., in West Palm Beach. According to the walk's Web site, $461,429 has been raised with a goal of $750,000. The festivities for both events start at 7 a.m. and the walks begin at 9 a.m.

Contact Mary Katherine Morales at 561-615-3888 or e-mail pbcheartwalk@heart.org for more information about the walk.