Go Red For Women luncheon focus on heart health

ELKHART, Ind. – The Elkhart County Go Red For Women luncheon was hosted on February 20 by the American Heart Association.

The focus of the meeting is the importance of heart health and spreading awareness about it.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women.

One in three women live with heart disease and stroke and on average takes one woman’s life every 80 seconds.

Several medical professionals at the luncheon said they encounter women with heart conditions on a daily basis. Their main concern is younger women.

“They’re smoking, they’re not exercising, they’re not eating right and they’re setting themselves up for cardiac diseases, stroke in the future and I worry about my female patients and how they’re going to do later on in life,” nurse practitioner Jessica Glassman said, who works at Goshen Health.

The vaping epidemic has contributed greatly to heart issues and was a major topic during the meeting.

The panel discussed practices for good heart health including not smoking, maintaining a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and working toward good blood pressure and cholesterol.