Heart Ball beats with healthful message

Forget same old. With soap opera stars as emcees and a hip honoree, the American Heart Assn. aimed its message of cardiovascular disease prevention at a younger crowd with its annual gala benefiting educational programs in Los Angeles County.

About a third of the 400 guests at the Heart Ball saluting Motown great Smokey Robinson represented a demographic more youthful than in previous years, observed Manuel Soto, association vice president of corporate development.

“This is the first time we have recognized someone outside the medical field. We knew Robinson would help us reach a broader audience,” Soto said. “We want to get the word out about the prevention of heart disease to people of every age and educate them about how it’s affecting their communities.”

Last year, “24,000 people died of cardiovascular disease in Los Angeles County -- including African Americans, Latinos and Asians,” event co-emcee Brook Kerr, costar of NBC’s daytimer “Passions,” told the black-tie crowd in the ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel. “And did you know that heart disease kills one woman every 60 seconds? Reversing this trend will take the combined efforts of all of us.”

Co-emcee Rodney Van Johnson, also of “Passions,” urged guests to “participate in community education efforts designed to show you how to reduce your risk” for heart disease.

During the silent auction, guests bid on items ranging from a red Valentino dress and Dior evening bag -- sartorial nods to the association’s February launch of Go Red for Women, a national campaign aimed at increasing heart disease awareness among women -- to vacations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and England.

Guests dined “heart healthy” on wild rice and cranberry-stuffed Cornish game hen at the March 27 event before watching Robinson, who did not perform, receive the first Gold Heart Award.

An ardent anti-smoking advocate, Robinson said his father, a smoker, died of cardiovascular disease. Robinson’s dream: that the whole world become “smoke-free.” A good slogan for an international anti-smoking campaign might be “I’m dying for a cigarette,” he said.

Capping the evening, Tony Award winner Patti LuPone serenaded guests with show-tune classics such as “Never, Never Land” and, of course, a passionate rendition of “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.”