West Point women invited to heart health awareness event

By Emily TowerNovember 6, 2008

West Point women invited to heart health awareness event
Judy Hagenbeck, right, wife of West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. Buster Hagenbeck, chats with planners of the American Heart Association's upcoming Go Red for Women luncheon during a breakfast she hosted at Qtrs. 100 for heart disease survivors Wedn... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

West Point's first lady called Mindy Quinn and others like her an inspiration, but Quinn wouldn't be able to inspire if research hadn't saved her life 21 years ago.

Quinn, a keynote speaker at an upcoming heart health awareness event, was one of several heart disease survivors honored by Judy Hagenbeck, wife of West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. Buster Hagenbeck, at a survivor breakfast held Wednesday at Qtrs. 100.

"It is my pleasure to do something for our survivors to thank them" for participating in the Go Red for Women luncheon scheduled for Nov. 14 at the Thayer Hotel, Judy Hagenbeck said. "They have truly overcome some obstacles in their life and are inspirational. The fact that they want to tell their story is commendable."

Quinn, who had a pacemaker put in her heart 21 years ago, is one of two speakers scheduled for Go Red for Women, an American Heart Association awareness campaign.

She was misdiagnosed for 13 years until one doctor out of several she saw determined she has Stokes-Adams syndrome, which involves malfunctions of the electrical system in her heart.

Without the research of the American Heart Association and others, she might not have survived.

"Since they put the pacemaker in, I'm almost symptom-free," Quinn said. "I take no medication. I don't have any limitations."

Among other topics, Quinn will be speaking about the importance of paying attention to one's own body.

The goal of the Go Red for Women events, which are organized by the American Heart Association, is to help the public understand how dangerous heart and cardiovascular disease is and how many women are affected by it.

Heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death for women in New York. About 42 percent of women who died in New York in 2003 had cardiovascular disease listed as the cause of death, according to the American Heart Association.

More than half of all cardiovascular disease-related deaths nationwide were women in 2005, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Heart disease killed more New York women in 2003 than the combined total of the next nine highest causes of death, according to the American Heart Association.

The Go Red for Women events, which have collected $115 million in donations, have raised awareness of women's cardiovascular health issues by about 10 percent in the last several years.

Half a million women have participated in the Go Red for Women campaign, and more than 650,000 women have taken action to improve their health since the campaign began in 2003, according to the American Heart Association.

The Go Red for Women luncheon is scheduled to begin with registration at 10 a.m.

A silent auction begins at 11 a.m., and lunch is scheduled at noon.

Items for auction include gift certificates to Woodbury Commons stores, Disney World passes, pottery, portraits and concert tickets. Cary Hirsch, MD, is scheduled to be keynote speaker. Mindy Quinn, who lives in Monroe, is scheduled to speak about having heart disease at a young age.

The event also is scheduled to feature music by Bernstein Bard Trio and breakout sessions with experts in nutrition, finance, exercise, stress management, health care and heart health.

There is a cost for the luncheon. For more information about the luncheon, call the American Heart Association at 342-1115.

For more information about Go Red for Women, visit www.goredforwomen.org