Greater Hartford Go Red Digital Event to Feature Keynote By Dot-Marie Jones

Hartford Go Red Digital Event to Address Women’s Heart Health Presented by Saint Francis Hospital and Nationally by CVS Health.

The American Heart Association will host the 17^th annual Greater Hartford Go Red for Women Luncheon, Wednesday, March 24, as a digital experience. The Go Red event is designed to raise awareness of the No. 1 killer of women: cardiovascular disease.

The Hartford Go Red For Women digital event is sponsored nationally by CVS Health and locally by Saint Francis Hospital, a member of Trinity Health Of New England.

The event will include inspiring survivor speaker, Mika Leah, along with a panel discussion featuring top women leaders from across Connecticut. With the evolving impact of coronavirus in communities across the country, many women are facing new challenges keeping them from their day-to-day activities. The panelists will discuss how they balance their work and life during these unprecedented times. The discussion will include Dr. Kristen Zarfos, breast surgeon and medical director, Saint Francis Hospital; Bryony Winn, senior vice president and chief strategy office, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield; and Sheryl Burke, senior vice president of cross-enterprise strategic innovation, Aetna, a CVS Health Company.

“Despite increases in awareness, only about half of us recognize that heart disease is still the number one killer of women in the U.S.,” said Sheryl Burke, senior vice president of Cross-Enterprise Strategic Innovation, Aetna, a CVS Health company. “CVS Health has raised more than $18 million for the American Heart Association, supporting work across the country and here in Hartford to raise awareness among more women about heart disease that is literally saving lives.”

Three-time Emmy® Nominated actor, Dot-Marie Jones, will be the keynote speaker. Dot-Marie Jones began her career by appearing on shows such as Married with Children, Lizzie McGuire, and Nip/Tuck, in addition to the feature films Patch Adams and Boondock Saints. In 2010 she portrayed coach ‘Sheldon Beiste’ on Fox’s megahit television show Glee, for which she received three consecutive Emmy Award nominations in the category ‘Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. The show won a Screen Actors Guild Award in the category ‘Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series’ and garnered three additional nominations for the award. She has also appeared on the ABC series The Goldbergs and Modern Family, and has guest starred on the Fox series, The Resident. Other appearances include American Horror Story, CBS series, Doubt and Two Broke Girls, and the Lifetime Movie, Sin and Seduction. Dot-Marie can be seen in the feature films, The Swing Of Things, Greener Grass and Dead Women Walking and most recently, Rob Zombie’s feature, 3 From Hell.

The event is co-chaired by Tom Burke, president, Saint Francis Hospital and Dr. Jessica Abrantes-Figueiredo, chief of infectious diseases. Funds raised will go toward research and education to reduce disability and death from cardiovascular disease and stroke in Connecticut.

While nearly 80 percent of cardiac events may be prevented, cardiovascular disease continues to be a woman’s greatest health threat. One in three women in Connecticut live with some form of cardiovascular disease and it’s on the rise in younger women. To prevent cardiovascular disease, women should understand family health history, know their numbers, and make lifestyle changes like moving more, eating smart and managing their blood pressure. Risk factors that are within women’s control include smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, physical inactivity, poor diet, obesity/overweight and diabetes.

 

For information on event registration or sponsorship, please contact Alissa Memoli, [email protected] or visit http://hartfordgoredluncheon.heart.org/