Heart Disease Is The Number-One Killer Of Women In The United States, Accounting For 1 In 3 Deaths; More Fatal Than All Forms Of Cancer Combined. And It Can Be Particularly Deadly Because It’s A “Silent Killer,” Often Presenting No Noticeable Symptoms Until It’s Too Late.
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That’s where the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women program comes in: to raise awareness of this serious issue, encourage healthier lifestyles and save lives.
Funds raised by Go Red programs nationwide help propel research specifically geared toward women, legislative advocacy programs for better overall health at the societal level and individual education. The key is awareness: the campaign encourages women to exercise, eat a more considered diet, visit a doctor regularly to undergo important tests that can serve as early warning mechanisms … and also to spread the word to others. Live healthier; share strength and wisdom;
go red.
A Victory for Awareness
Chelsea Mielke, 41, is a mother of three, wife, sister, daughter and friend. In January of 2013, she decided her New Year’s resolution would be to lose weight. She stuck with her efforts for two months, when she realized that her blood pressure wasn’t decreasing, and she also had swelling in her hands and feet.
Mielke has been a nurse for 19 years and has experience working with patients in her situation. However, sometimes nurses can be the worst patients; she ignored her symptoms and continued with her day-to-day life. She finally decided to visit her primary care doctor, who took the time to listen to her concerns and researched her family history.
Her mother had died unexpectedly at the age of 49 of an aortic dissection. With that information, her doctor thought Mielke might be in heart failure and sent her for an echocardiogram. Based on its results, the doctor diagnosed her with a bicuspid valve (instead of the normal three aortic valves that almost all children are born with, she only had two), and a 4.7cm aneurysm.
Mielke was immediately scheduled for open-heart surgery. Surgeons repaired the aneurysm and implanted a mechanical valve.
She was lucky her doctors listened and paid attention to her family history. They were able to provide swift treatment that has given her the chance to live a longer life. “This has been the scariest and most eye-opening year of my life,” said Mielke. “Heart disease killed my mother, my great-aunt, and has affected my family in many ways.”
Mielke is now a member of the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women Passion Committee. Its name is perfectly accurate: it’s a group of people who are passionate about spreading awareness of the dangers of heart disease in women.
“I am in awe of the unity of the women involved in this program to bring awareness to their communities, loved ones and friends,” Mielke continues. “I hope that someone hearing my story and relating to the symptoms and family history takes the step of asking her doctor for a heart screening. It can save her life, just as it did mine.”
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Red Rendezvous
The OKC chapter of the American Heart Association would love to have you over for lunch – along with hundreds of others who are committed to cardiac health. The annual educational (and delicious) Go Red for Women Luncheon will be held on May 16 at the Skirvin Hilton. Pick out something crimson to wear and visit okcgored.ahaevents.org to register.
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And Many More!
The American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women is celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2014, becoming along the way a network of caring individuals millions strong. How have they done so far? Here are ten of the program’s tip-top accomplishments …
1 ►More lives have been saved.
Over 627,000 women have continued living, and 34 percent fewer American women now die from heart disease.
2 ►More women are taking control of their health.
Almost 90 percent of Go Red participants have made healthy lifestyle changes including losing weight, improving their diets, exercising more and talking with physicians about a heart health plan.
3 ►More information has reached the American people.
Heart disease is the Number 1 killer of women, and now more than 23 percent of Americans know it.
4 ►More women are in the know.
Awareness had doubled (2x) among American women and tripled (3x) among Hispanic women.
5 ►More women minimized their risk.
Among American women, smoking has decreased by 15 percent and high cholesterol has declined by 18 percent.
6 ►More communities have joined the fight.
More than 185 cities nationwide host Go Red for Women luncheons and events, and registration for the group has swelled to a mighty 1,960,704.
7 ►More advocacy efforts are paving the way.
The CDC’s WISEWOMAN heart disease and stroke screening program for low-income women now spans 20 states, and women no longer pay higher insurance premiums than men for the same coverage.
8 ►More gender-specific guidelines have been developed.
A greater number of physicians have come to recognize that women’s symptoms and responses to medication differ (sometimes substantially) from men’s.
9 ►More gender specificity has reached medical research.
The FDA is now required to report the influence of gender on clinical trial results, so it’s easier to draw conclusions about studies’ effects on women.
10 ►More inequalities have been identified.
There’s a long way to go to reach parity, but knowing that, for example, men are two to three times more likely (2x-3x) to receive implantable defibrillators than women among Medicare patients helps give focus to the fight for future health.
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2014 Go Red For Women Executive Leadership Team
Beth Pauchnik, Co-Chair
Integris Health
Lynn Horton, Co-Chair
Integris Health
Kelley Brewer
President, Lakeside Women’s Hospital
Juli Owens
Senior Vice President, Prosperity Bank
Tom Connell
Managing Partner, GS Companies
Barbara Anne DeBolt
Director of Business Development & Community Relations, GS Companies
Polly Fleet
Cox Communications
Martha Burger
Laverne Knooihuizen
Patti Mellow
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The 2014 Circle of Red
Mollie Andrews
Vice President, Marketing, Cox Communication
Royce Bargas, DO
Cardiologist, Midwest Physicians Group
Brenda Jones Barwick, APR
President, Jones Public Relations, Inc.
Mary Ann Bauman, M.D.
Medical Director, Women’s Health and Community Relations, Integris Health
Lisa Blackburn
Agent, Blackburn Financial Group
Brenda Bolander, CPA
Senior Vice President, Retirement Investment Advisors
Kelley Brewer
President, Lakeside Women’s Hospital/ Integris Health
Susan Chambers, M.D.
Obstetrics & Gynecology, Lakeside Women’s Hospital
Jennifer Collins, M.D.
Family Medicine, St. Anthony
Jennifer Chrysant
Jacque Fiegel
Area President – Central Oklahoma, Prosperity Bank
Polly Fleet
Major Account Manager, Cox Business
Carol Hager, CHFC, CDFA
Financial Consultant – Advice, Retirement, and Life Insurance, AXA Advisors
Trish Horn
Vice President, Governance, Environmental and Corporate Secretary, OGE Energy Corp
Lynn Horton
System Vice President, Outpatient Care Delivery, Integris Health
Paula Kerrigan
Vice President, Wealth Management, Morgan Stanley
Laverne Knooihuizen
Angie LaPlante
Charter Oak Production Co.
Julie Marks, CPA, CFP
Financial Advisor, Ameriprise Financial
Beth Pauchnik
General Counsel & Chief Administrative Officer, Integris Health
Sherry Roles, DO
Internal Medicine, Midwest Physicians Group
Natalie Shirley
President, OSU-Oklahoma City
Linda Slawson
Ginger Sloan
Founding Principal, GS Companies
Georgianne Snowden, M.D.
Medical Director for Endovascular Neuroradiology and Neuroradiology Services, Radiology Associates and Integris Baptist Medical Center
Gretchen Spears
Principal FCR, Boston Scientific
Stephanie Stewart
Vice President, Strategic Integration, Devon Energy
Sara Sweet
Business Manager, Sweet Law Firm
Dawn Tartaglione, DO, FACOS
Neurosurgeon, Integris Health
Karen Wicker
President, Candor Public Relations
Tracey Wills
Chief Executive Officer, Option One
Adeline Yerkes
Owner, AMY Consulting, LLC
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When You Go, Go Glamorous
Wearing the namesake shade as part of the Go Red for Women program is a symbol of solidarity, of visible determination, of strength in unity and the power to influence others toward healthier lives. With that in mind, Slice would be glad to add some scarlet to one lucky reader’s accessories by giving away these lady's 18k rose gold, sterling silver and gemstone bracelets.
The designer original Tirisi Moda wrap bracelet is in ivory leather with a rose gold sleeve clasp. The bracelet is embellished with a sterling silver and 18k rose gold charm, set with a cabochon cut smoky quartz, as well as an 18k rose gold and sterling silver key-shaped charm set with round diamonds. The leather bracelet is complemented by a wire wrap bracelet with faceted red agate beads; its ends are finished with rose gold beads. The combined retail value is $2,084.
They could both be yours; just enter online at sliceok.com/gored by May 15. Good luck!