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Go Red For Women Spreads Awareness For Heart Disease Go Red For Women Spreads Awareness for Heart Disease

By Corey Spector

Go Red Pre-Lunch
© 2019 Corey Spector

BEA GONZALEZ: “ONE OF EVERY THREE OF US WILL DIE FROM HEART DISEASE.”

KRISTI SMOROL: “HEART DISEASE KILLS ONE IN THREE WOMEN.”

EMME: “I HAD NO IDEA. ONE IN THREE WOMEN.”

COREY SPECTOR: “TREATING YOUR HEART INCORRECTLY TAKES AWAY LIVES. IT COULD BE YOUR MOTHER, YOUR SISTER, OR YOUR FRIEND. AND THE NUMBERS ARE STAGGERING. ONE WOMAN DIES EVERY 80 SECONDS DUE TO HEART DISEASE BUT ONLY ABOUT HALF THE WOMEN IN THE U-S KNOW THAT IT’S THEIR NUMBER ONE KILLER. ON THURSDAY, THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION HOSTED THE GO RED FOR WOMEN LUNCHEON AT THE ONCENTER TO DISCUSS LIVING HEALTHY LIVES. BEA GONZALEZ, THE CHAIR OF THIS YEAR’S CAMPAIGN, IS ONE PERSON WHO REALIZED SHE NEEDED TO MAKE SOME CHANGES.”

GONZALEZ: “I SUFFER FROM ISSUES OF HEART DISEASE. I HAVE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE. I HAVE WEIGHT ISSUES THAT I’VE HAD TO LEARN HOW TO MANAGE. BUT WHAT I’VE LEARNED IN THAT PROCESS IS THAT 80 PERCENT OF MY ISSUES I CAN TAKE CARE OF.”

SPECTOR: “THE WAYS TO PREVENT HEART DISEASE ARE VERY SIMPLE – LIMITING YOUR SALT INTAKE, NOT SMOKING, MAKING SURE YOU EXERCISE. BUT DESPITE THE SIMPLICITY OF THOSE TASKS, SPREADING AWARENESS IS A VERY DIFFICULT JOB. KRISTI SMOROL, THE ASSOCIATION’S COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, BELIEVES STEREOTYPES PLAY A FACTOR.”

SMOROL: “WE THINK THAT IT’S A MAN’S DISEASE BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT THE HOLLYWOOD TROPE OF SOMEONE – A MAN WHO CLUTCHES HIS CHEST AND FALLS OVER WITH A HEART ATTACK. THAT’S WHAT SEEMS SO OFTEN. BUT, IT REALLY IS A WOMAN’S DISEASE AS WELL.”

SPECTOR: “THIS YEAR’S EVENT FEATURED A SPECIAL GUEST. EMME, A FAMOUS PLUS-SIZE MODEL – SHE THINKS WOMEN ARE PUTTING TOO MUCH ON THEIR PLATES.”

EMME: “IS IT REALLY IMPORTANT TO TAKE ON ALL YOU’RE DOING? AND WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO BE SUPERWOMAN? WHY ARE WE SAYING, ‘YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES’ TO EVERYTHING AND NOT LEARNING HOW TO DELEGATE?”

SPECTOR: “AND AS FOR LASTING WORDS OF IMPACT.”

EMME: “EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU HAS INCREDIBLE PURPOSE. AND TO HAVE IT CUT SHORT IS JUST NOT RIGHT.”

GONZALEZ: “DON’T SMOKE. AND IF YOU SMOKE, STOP. IF YOU DON’T, DON’T START.”

SPECTOR: “SOMETIMES THE SIMPLICITY, THE SMALL THINGS IN OUR LIVES, CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE. COREY SPECTOR, NCC NEWS.”

By Corey Spector SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — The American Heart Association held the 16th-annual Go Red for Women Luncheon & Festival of Red on Thursday afternoon. More than 600 people attended the event held at the Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center, which raised a record-breaking $425,000 towards cardiovascular disease and stroke research.

93 Q radio host Amy Robbins and CNY Central anchor Lisa Spitz emceed the luncheon, which included several guests, including Keynote Speaker Emme, a famous model who graduated from Syracuse University in 1985.

Emme was one of many people gathered at the luncheon who has an inner connection to heart disease. Prior to attending Syracuse, she was scheduled to meet her biological father for the first time since she was seven years old. Two weeks before the meeting, she learned her father passed away due to a heart attack.

Emme inspired the crowd. The model asked everyone to close their eyes and imagine her voice belonged to their bodies, asking them to stay healthy. Emme also encouraged the audience to relieve themselves of day-to-day stress. “Is it really important to take on all you’re doing?” she rhetorically asked. “And why are you trying to be superwoman? Why are we saying, ‘yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes’ to everything and not learning how to delegate?”

Emme made significant alterations in her lifestyle once she realized that heart disease wasn’t directly correlated to solely older women. The 56-year-old reduced her stress, walked more, and began to eat fresher foods. During her time on stage, Emme showed disdain for the association of the word “diet,” and maintained that eating with the sole goal of eliminating calories is a stressful strategy.

Syracuse University Vice President for Community Engagement and the luncheon’s chairwoman Bea Gonzalez shared her own story. Earlier in her life, Gonzalez struggled with her weight, which prompted her to doctor to say, “If you don’t make these changes, soon enough, someone will be taking care of you.”  Since that point, Gonzalez has lost a lot of weight and become heavily involved in the Go Red for Women campaign.

Many women do not realize that they are most likely to die from heart disease. Go Red for Women estimates one in three women’s lives will end due to cardiovascular issues. The CDC asserts that only 56% of females within the United States know their biggest risk is heart disease.

Communications Director Kristy Smorol believes the lack of awareness is due to stereotypes. “We think that it’s a man’s disease because that’s what the Hollywood trope of someone – a man who clutches his chest and falls over with a heart attack,” Smorol said. “That’s what seems so often. But, it really is a woman’s disease as well.”

Multiple speakers throughout the afternoon expressed the importance of eliminating risk factors for heart disease. They advised to exercise regularly, eat vegetables, limit salt intake and to avoid smoking. Another important way to stay clear of heart disease is knowing your blood pressure, blood-glucose levels and cholesterol. Additional guidelines can be found here.

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