Michelle and I attended a wonderful event on Friday, May 7, 2010. It was the Go Red for Women Event. The event was organized by the American Heart Association and the event was made possible by a large number of local sponsors.
The message was very clear:
- Take Charge of Your Own Health – Visit your Doctor, know your numbers and work toward improving your blood pressure, cholesterol and other numbers by making life style changes.
- Speak Up – Spread the word, Heart Disease is women’s #1 Killer.
- Consider Making a Donation – Your donation will help fund local and national Go Red activities to support awareness, research, education and community programs to benefit women.
The symposium featured the following speakers:
- Ari Hauptman, M.D., F.A.A.P. with the Department of Pediatrics at Kaiser Permanente – Dr Hauptman spoke to us about childhood obesity. He had suggestions on How to Prevent and Treat Childhood Obesity.
- Rami Turk, M.D., Medical Director of the Vascular Department at Northern Californian Medical Associates. Dr. Turk talked to us about Heart Disease being women’s number 1 killer and what we can do about it.
- Ramzi Deeik, M.D., Director Cardiac Surgery, Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital & Cardiac Surgeon at the Queen of the Valley Medical Center. Dr. Deeik spoke about the advances in Cardiovascular Surgery.
At lunch, we had a Heart Healthy lunch…beautiful salad and dessert provided by the Hyatt Vineyard Creek (the location of the event). During lunch we heard from Mrs. Condoni. She talked about Joey, her 7 year old son. He was born with half a heart. At 7 years old, he has survived three surgeries and continues to inspire people around him with his courage. She made a very heart felt plea for donations to the American Heart Association. Santa Rosa Firemen passed out a RED boa to everyone that made a commitment on the spot.
The key note speaker was Kirk Papas, M.D. He is a Physical and Rehabilitation Doctor at Permanente Medical Group at Kaiser Santa Rosa. He talked about the importance of moving your body. He talked about committing to 150. (Our interpretation; he wants us to commit to 150 minutes of aerobic exercises a week…this would be about 20 minutes per day.)
At the conclusion, there was a Live Auction and Fashion Show.
It was a wonderful event and it was for a good cause. We encourage everyone to consider giving a donation to the American Heart Association (see the link below). And, attending next year’s event.