Women constitute half the population, workforce, and community and are responsible for over 80 percent of a family’s medical decision-making. Therefore, women’s well-being plays a pivotal role in shaping the overall health of families and communities, according to the McKinsey Health Institute.
The North Augusta Chamber has joined in February’s Go Red for Women Month, the American Heart Association’s national movement to end heart disease and stroke in women. Tomorrow is the Chamber’s Women in Business How to Be Heart Smart luncheon. It will be held at the North Augusta Community Center at 495 Brookside Avenue in North Augusta.
Dr. Jennifer McNear, a General Cardiologist with a special interest in prevention, will serve as the speaker for the luncheon. She attended Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and completed internal medicine training at Fort Eisenhower and cardiology training at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common type of heart disease in women. Other common heart problems in women include arrhythmia, heart failure, and cardiomyopathy. Closing the cardiovascular disease gap between men and women could help women regain 1.6 million years of life lost because of poor health and early death and boost the US economy by $28 billion annually by 2040.
Exhibits include blood pressure checks and heart health education information from Piedmont Augusta.
As this is a Women in Business meeting, it’s a great time to remind you of an opportunity to tell your story. ABD has produced many WIB stories, including those of NA Chamber Chairperson, Alicia Fitts and NA Chamber President, Terra Carroll.
Telling your story inspires others to make their own difference. For more information on ABD’s Women in Business program, contact Neil Gordon.
Wear red and check your heart at the door.
Editor’s Note: This topic is close to my heart, pardon the pun. A few months ago, my general practitioner diagnosed me with a heart murmur. Within the next few weeks, I had an echocardiogram and then a Heart MRI. As a person who writes about these topics but has not experienced them myself, it was a very anxious time for me. The good news is that although my heart is working a tad bit too hard, a low-dose beta blocker is controlling it.
Editor’s Note:
Mitzi Oxford is a veteran broadcaster and features writer who also worked at the same television station in Columbus, Georgia as Augusta’s Brad Means! If you have a South Carolina story idea for Mitzi, please email her at mitzioxfordcreative@gmail.com.
