The University of Chicago

February 21 and 27: Celebrate Heart Health Month with Live Healthy Chicago

by | Feb 9, 2026 | community, events, newsletter | 0 comments

This February, community members are invited to join Live Healthy Chicago and the Chicago Park District in celebrating Heart Month and empowering communities to Get to Know Their Numbers at two Community Health Fairs in Garfield Park and Englewood.

These free, family-friendly events will bring neighbors together for health screenings, wellness activities, and resources that support heart-healthy living.

Event Details:

  • Saturday, February 21 | 9:30–11:30 AM Garfield Park – 100 N. Central Park Ave.
  • Friday, February 27 | 2:30–4:30 PM Ogden Park – 6500 S. Racine Ave.

Event Highlights (Free & Open to the Public)

  • Know Your Numbers: Free, professional blood pressure screenings.
  • Wellness Demos: Heart-healthy fitness tips from the Chicago Park District.
  • Family Fun: Music, food, and dedicated kids’ activities.
  • Prizes: Raffles for wellness kits and healthy living prizes.
  • Resources: Connect with local healthcare partners and community organizations.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke are leading contributors to Chicago’s life expectancy gap. African American residents in the city live, on average, nearly 11 years less than other Chicagoans. This gap is one of the largest in the nation.

Live Healthy Chicago brings together partners, programs and resources from across the healthcare ecosystem to take meaningful steps toward heart health, to center care within the community and to foster partnerships that lead to improved care. Members of C3EN’s Community Based Research Network are key players in a new initiative targeting cardiovascular disease and its role in Chicago’s life expectancy gap.

Over the next three years, this initiative will focus on community areas across Chicago’s West and South Side neighborhoods with the highest rates of CVD and stroke mortality to ensure every Chicagoan has a fair chance at a long, healthy life. By partnering with community-based organizations and hundreds of embedded community health workers, Live Healthy Chicago is deploying evidence-based hypertension control strategies to more than 75 community and hospital health centers, with the goal of achieving a 1% reduction in heart disease risk across these neighborhoods.