American Heart Association hosts virtual Go Red for Women event

JACKSON, Tenn. — The American Heart Association works to bring awareness to heart disease and stroke.

For 17 years now, the Go Red for Women campaign educated women about their number one killer: cardiovascular disease.

Thursday afternoon, the association hosted a virtual event to remind the community.

“We want this to be a time where we come together and just remember why do we go red, why is there the American Heart Association, why are we constantly talking about 1 in 3 women die from heart disease, 1 in 5 die from stroke,” said Christy Futrell, Regional Director for the American Heart Association.

Many women shared their stories of how heart disease impacted their lives.

“We’ve come a long way, but it’s still killing our mothers and our sisters and our daughters,” Futrell said.

Participants played heart trivia while raising funds to support heart disease research and education.

“We could give all the pamphlets out in the world, medical equipment out in the world, and it does nothing if you don’t have the research there for the doctors to save the lives once people go to the emergency room,” Futrell said.

Despite the pandemic, more West Tennesseans have contributed than ever, raising more than $180,000.

“We have to continue to fight and I’ll tell you what, West Tennessee has really fought. This is our largest year for Go Red for Women in the history of West Tennessee for the American Heart Association,” Futrell said.

For more information on how to donate or join the campaign, click here.

You can also email christy.futrell@heart.org to get involved.