Roy Campanella Run Scheduled Sunday

More than 1,200 runners are expected to participate Sunday in the fourth annual Roy Campanella 5K/10K Run of Champions at Woodley Park in Van Nuys.

The run will benefit the Northridge Heart Institute at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, which sustained more than $28 million in damages from the Northridge earthquake.

Hospital officials said that one institute program still in need of funding is the “non-invasive” cardiology department, which utilizes ultrasonic cardiograms to determine whether a patient’s clogged arteries are in need of an angioplasty.

Ken Cooks, director of the institute’s cardiology department, said that money raised from previous runs has enabled the hospital to purchase updated equipment and to explore new developments in cardiovascular surgery.

One such development put into practice at the institute involves substituting the balloons regularly used in angioplasties with wire-mesh stints, said Cooks.

“After an angioplasty, if the balloon placed in a patient’s clogged artery deflates, the artery could close again and blockage will continue,” said Cooks. “The wire-mesh stints are more likely to keep the area open.

“This may help a patient avoid by-pass surgery,” he added.

The Roy Campanella 5K/10K Run of Champions is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Advance registration fees range from $10 to $15. On the day of the event, fees will increase to $18.

In addition to individual runs, a 5K “Corporate Challenge” will be held at the event with four-member coed teams competing for a company trophy. The registration fee for that segment is $100.

To register or for additional information, call (818) 885-5341.