On Saturday, November 1st, over 6,000 walkers and runners will lace up their shoes for the annual 11-beach walk organized by the Dutch Heart Foundation to raise money for cardiovascular disease research. Among them will be a remarkable group: Team Whole Heart Peers, including British engineer Tal Golesworthy, inventor of a life-saving heart procedure and the first patient number himself.
Tal Golesworthy suffers from the hereditary Marfan syndrome, a condition in which the aorta (the body’s main artery) can become dangerously dilated and eventually rupture – with fatal consequences. Dissatisfied with existing surgical methods, he designed a custom-made support sleeve 20 years ago that fits tightly around the enlarged aorta.
He convinced British heart surgeons of this method and became the first patient of his own invention . This PEARS procedure ( Personalized External Aortic Root Support ) has now been used on more than 1,500 patients worldwide.
Special mix
Besides Golesworthy, the Whole Heart Peers team includes more exceptional participants in the 11-beach walk. One of them is cardiothoracic surgeon Dave Koolbergen of Amsterdam UMC, who was the first heart surgeon in the Netherlands to perform the PEARS procedure on a patient. He is the driving force behind the Whole Heart Peers team; a unique mix of people with congenital heart defects, doctors, nurses, and loved ones.
Koolbergen: “You never undergo heart surgery alone. As a patient, you’re surrounded by medical experts—from the surgeon to the surgical assistant—and by caring friends and family. Thanks to all that support, recovery is often even faster. To emphasize the importance of this sense of connection, we, as the Whole Heart Peers team, are participating in the 11-beach walk.”
Tribute
ABN AMRO Open tournament director Richard Krajicek is also participating with this team. The former Wimbledon champion was recently diagnosed with a dilated aorta with a risk of fatal rupture. Krajicek underwent surgery with the PEARS procedure by Koolbergen. Krajicek calls the walk ” a tribute to the people who literally and figuratively keep my heart beating.”
The initiator of this walking team is NRC science journalist Gemma Venhuizen. Her cardiologist told her that her aorta had “in the blink of an eye become a ticking time bomb.” She wrote a compelling and personal article for NRC about her difficult decision between conventional surgery and the PEARS procedure, which was awarded an American science journalism prize. She ultimately chose the PEARS procedure.
More than a hike
The 11-beach tour is not only a challenging tour along 11 beautiful traditional Dutch beaches over 12.5, 25 and 50 kilometers, but also a An important event to raise money for research into cardiovascular disease , one of the leading causes of death in the Netherlands. This edition focuses on hereditary heart disease.
Heroes Route
For walkers who want to participate but aren’t (yet) ready for a longer hike, there’s the Heroes’ Route . This is a special 5-kilometer distance for participants recovering from cardiovascular disease, undergoing rehabilitation, or finding the strength to get moving again at some other point in their lives. The Heroes’ Route offers these participants the chance to still participate in the 11-Beaches Tour without exceeding their limits.
Whatever distance you choose, the walk will end festively for everyone in the center of Zandvoort, where participants will be warmly welcomed with music and dance.