Beautiful silent auction prior to the lunch. I bid on the Kendra Scott lot, but ultimately got outbid.

Yesterday I had the honor of being a guest of the American Heart Association at their annual “Go Red” luncheon in San Jose, California. It’s an amazing fundraising lunch which features education about heart disease, survivor speeches, and tear-jerking moments. Yes, I did well up with tears during one speech a survivor delivered.

Pretty table setting at the lunch.

A woman dies every 80 seconds from heart-related illnesses. Sadly, roughly 80% of those deaths are preventable. While men tend to have more text-book symptoms of a heart attack, women often think they are suffering from the flu, stress, acid reflux, or exhaustion. Therefore, it is so important for women to know and understand the symptoms of a heart attack.

Donation cards from the tables

The following symptoms are signs that a woman could be suffering from a heart attack. These are the symptoms, detailed on heart.org.

1. Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of the chest which lasts for more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back.
2. Pain or discomfort in one or both of your arms, back, neck, jaw or your stomach.
3. Shortness of breath, with or without chest discomfort.
4. Other signs such as breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
5. As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is heart.org or discomfort. Some women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some additional common symptoms, such as shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain.

If you ever feel any of these symptoms, don’t be afraid to call 9-1-1. Every second counts when you are having a heart attack, so calling 9-1-1 can significantly help your recovery if indeed you are suffering from a heart attack.

Please help spread the word to other women, so they too will know what to watch out for. Together, we can help increase awareness and reduce the annual deaths in women due to heart attacks. For more information, please visit heart.org

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy

Laura Adney from Have Need Want and myself after the lunch. I won’ 49er tickets from the silent auction!

*Please excuse the photo quality, all pictures were taken with my iPhone.