Greater Washington Heart Ball Relocates To DC; Black Tie Event Adds Young Professional After Party

PENN QUARTER -- Valentine's Day might now be a distant memory for most, but hearts were still aflutter on Saturday evening as the American Heart Association (AHA) hosted its annual marquis black tie event for the Greater Washington region inside the National Building Museum.

Appropriately dubbed the 'Heart Ball', the signature event relocated from its former location in Tysons Corner, Virginia to the District proper this year.

Also new for 2013 was the addition of a late night 'After Dark' component for the AHA's community of young professionals, which helped inject the blowout bash with a (heart) healthy dose of energy.

Some of the notables in attendance over the weekend included 2013 Heart Ball Chair and Anybill Co-founder and CEO Matt Voorhees and WUSA9 anchor Anita Brikman, in addition to more than 500 of the region's most prominent leaders from the physician, health care, and business communities.

Entertainment came courtesy of a cappella music sensations, The Persuasions, who, after performing their own set, graciously accompanied a live performance piece of Christopher Janney’s “HeartBeat” soundwork.

A special presentation was also held to honor the United States military and its support of the nonpartisan national security organization known as Mission: Readiness, which consists of more than 300 retired generals and admirals who are committed to addressing the national security issues created by America's weight problems, among other concerns.

The purpose behind the Heart Ball is to bring the D.C. community together to raise awareness of heart disease and stroke and to raise money for research and programming. Heart disease kills more individuals each year than the next five causes of death combined and the AHA is committed to fighting the pervasiveness of cardiovascular disease.