Darmouth-Hitchcock Logo (PRNewsFoto/Dartmouth-Hitchcock)

LEBANON – The annual Go Red for Women luncheon returns to an in-person event to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death for women in the United States, as well as generate funds for lifesaving cardiovascular research.

Event Chair Johanna L. Beliveau, DNP, MBA, RN, president and CEO of Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire (VNH), has set a goal to raise $110,000 to support the association’s lifesaving work. The event, which will be held on April 20, 2022, from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm, includes a silent auction, an inspiring survivor story, a special keynote address and an expert panel discussion. Panelists include Lauren Gray Gilstrap, MD, MPH, director, Advanced Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplantation at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC); Emily P. Zeitler, MD, MHS, Cardiac Electrophysiology at DHMC; and Kristen M. Frechette, RN, Cardiac Rehabilitation nurse manager at DHMC.

“It’s not just about wearing red. It’s not just about sharing heart health facts. It’s about all women standing together with Go Red for Women–because one in three women die from cardiovascular diseases, and losing even one woman is too many,” said Beliveau.

Kerrilynn C. Hennessey, MD, cardiologist and co-director of the Cardio-obstetrics Consultation Service at the Heart & Vascular Center at Dartmouth-Hitchcock and director of the Heart and Vascular Center’s quality improvement program will present, “Cardiovascular health for women across the lifespan” during the breakout educational sessions. Cynthia C. Taub, MD, chief of Cardiovascular Medicine at DHMC, will present a keynote address on women’s risk factors and, in particular, how stress can increase women’s risk for developing heart disease.

“Heart attack presents differently between men and women. Where men often experience the sensation of a crushing weight on their chest, warning signs for women tend to include an upset stomach, pain in the jaw or heart palpitations. These kinds of symptoms are important to know not only because they’re unique, but also because they can just feel like stress, which many women live with daily,” Taub said. “My hope for this year’s Go Red for Women luncheon is that participants will walk away empowered with information on how to know heart issues are happening, but also how to reduce stress in their lives so that they can live healthier and happier.”

The New Hampshire Go Red for Women Luncheon is sponsored nationally by CVS Health and locally by VNH, DHMC, Mascoma Bank, New Hampshire Business Review, New Hampshire Magazine, Great Eastern Radio and Local 22/44.

For tickets and more information about the 2022 New Hampshire Go Red for Women Luncheon, visit NHGoRed.heart.org or email Caela.Goumas@Heart.org.