Sue Apodaca, right, shows 10-year-old Phoebe Li how to perform CPR and use an Automated External Defribrillator (AED) during the Robert C. Polk Heart Healthy Education Event on Saturday, June 3, 2023, at Memorial Stadium in Everett, Washington. Apodaca’s sister, Darla Varrenti, started the Nick of Time Foundation after the unexpected death of her teenage son, Nick Varrenti, in 2004. The organization promotes cardiac education and puts on heart screenings at high schools across the state. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)

Sue Apodaca, right, shows 10-year-old Phoebe Li how to perform CPR and use an Automated External Defribrillator (AED) during the Robert C. Polk Heart Healthy Education Event on Saturday, June 3, 2023, at Memorial Stadium in Everett, Washington. Apodaca’s sister, Darla Varrenti, started the Nick of Time Foundation after the unexpected death of her teenage son, Nick Varrenti, in 2004. The organization promotes cardiac education and puts on heart screenings at high schools across the state. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)

Everett heart health event honors late athletic director

Robert Polk was 54 when he died of a heart attack. On Saturday, people learned about how to recognize the symptoms.

EVERETT — Tara Polk’s husband was digging in the yard with a pickax in April 2021. His upper back was bothering him, and he was out of breath. He was angry to be so winded, thinking he was out of shape.

Robert Polk went upstairs to take a shower, and his wife heard him throw up. This was unusual. He told her his upper back was really hurting.

“He was like a crazed animal, desperately trying to walk away from the discomfort,” Tara Polk said. “I thought he was having a muscle spasm.”

He went to lay down, then stood up and collapsed to the ground.

Paramedics pronounced him dead from a heart attack only a couple hours after his symptoms started. He was 54.

Everett Memorial Stadium hosted a heart health educational event Saturday, honoring the memory of the former Everett Public Schools athletic director.

Robert Polk (Contributed photo)

Robert and Tara were both college athletes, with Robert getting his master’s degree in physical education. He was a football coach who set up CPR classes, but he was still not aware of his symptoms, Tara Polk said.

“I don’t believe he would be alive today had we really caught it,” she said. “But now I’m thinking if I had really been aware, maybe he would.”

The event, held in collaboration with the Everett Aquasox and other vendors, educated dozens of people with the hope of saving lives.

Providence Regional Medical Center Everett hosted a booth to tell people about how to keep the heart healthy and recognize the symptoms of a heart attack, such as chest pains and shortness of breath.

“A regular physical is important, and once you hit 50, going in for a heart screening,” Tara Polk said.

The Nick of Time Foundation was founded by Darla Varentti after the unexpected death of her teenage son. The foundation brought a truck inside the stadium, with mannequins to practice CPR on.

Tara Polk, widow of Robert Polk, speaks with Steve Willits while mingling with attendees at the Robert C. Polk Heart Healthy Education Event on Saturday, June 3, 2023, at Memorial Stadium in Everett, Washington. Polk was integral in getting the event put together in memory of her late husband who died of a heart attack two years ago. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)

Tara Polk, widow of Robert Polk, speaks with Steve Willits while mingling with attendees at the Robert C. Polk Heart Healthy Education Event on Saturday, June 3, 2023, at Memorial Stadium in Everett, Washington. Polk was integral in getting the event put together in memory of her late husband who died of a heart attack two years ago. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)

There were also activities meant to increase your heart rate, like walking around the track and a Zumba class with the Everett Aquasox mascot. Afterward, people could get their heart rate taken.

Robert Polk died a few months shy of the couple’s 30th anniversary. The pair met in college at the University of Puget Sound. They had two children. Their youngest is getting married next summer.

“We explored all of Washington,” Tara Polk said. “I saw a travel ad of top 10 things to do in Washington — Robert and I had already done all of them.”

Tara Polk hopes eventually this kind of event will be held annually.

“His name is on a lot of different scholarships now, and those of us who knew him know he would be shaking his head, like, ‘Why are you putting my name on things?’” Tara Polk said. “He just didn’t want the limelight on him. As an educator, he’s still educating.”

Dani and Ryan Driscoll finish the first of four laps with their son Willy, 2, during the Robert C. Polk Heart Healthy Education Event on Saturday, June 3, 2023, at Memorial Stadium in Everett, Washington. The Driscolls said they came out to the event to support Tara Polk and to honor the memory of her husband, Robert. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)

Dani and Ryan Driscoll finish the first of four laps with their son Willy, 2, during the Robert C. Polk Heart Healthy Education Event on Saturday, June 3, 2023, at Memorial Stadium in Everett, Washington. The Driscolls said they came out to the event to support Tara Polk and to honor the memory of her husband, Robert. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)

Here are signs of a heart attack:

Chest discomfort: Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.

Discomfort in other areas of the upper body: Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.

Shortness of breath: This feeling often comes along with chest discomfort. But it can occur before the chest discomfort.

Other signs: These may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.

Heart disease affects women as much as men, as it is the leading cause of death for women in the United States, according to the American Heart Association. Women are “somewhat more likely” to experience shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting and back or jaw pain as symptoms.

Jonathan Tall: 425-339-3486; jonathan.tall@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @EDHJonTall.

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