TOLEDO, Ohio — Editor's note: The attached video is from earlier coverage of the event which aired on March 1, 2023.
Just one day after International Women's Day and during Women's History Month, the American Heart Association hosted its annual "Go Red for Women" luncheon to bring awareness to heart disease and stroke among women, with a specific focus on CPR training.
The nation-wide campaign has organizers in communities across the country, including in Toledo, where Thursday's luncheon brought over 300 people decked out in red to support the movement's efforts. Women from around the northwest Ohio community participated in the event, including WTOL 11 Anchor and Reporter Tiffany Tarpley, who was a featured speaker at the event.
The luncheon's 2023 theme, "Be the Beat," highlights a problem organizers say is pervasive in emergency medical care: a 2017 study indicated women are less likely to receive bystander CPR intervention in the case of a cardiac incident.
According to the American Heart Association, out of 19,000 cases in the study, 39% of women received CPR from bystanders in public compared to 45% of men. The study subsequently found that men were 23% more likely to survive a cardiac event than women.
In order to rectify this disparity in women's cardiac health and survival rate, Go Red for Women is seeking to educate people in the community on the importance of hands-only CPR.
"Hands-only CPR really is so simple, and we know that it saves lives," Emma Helvey said in a statement. Helvey is the Director of Marketing and Business Development for The Mosser Group and co-chair of Toledo's Go Red for Women Campaign.
"You just have to remember to call 911 and to push hard and fast in the center of the chest until help arrives," she said.
Organizers also worked to dispel myths regarding women's cardiac health and CPR. According to AHA, bystanders may be less likely to provide hands-only CPR to women for several reasons, including fearing "accusations of inappropriate touching, sexual assault or injuring the person."
People may also falsely think women are less likely to have heart problems, or that they are overdramatizing the incident, Go Red for Women representatives said. The AHA also found that women of color are also disproportionately affected by heart disease and are less likely to receive the same treatment as white patients, even after accounting for variables including education, income and other heart health complications.
By providing education regarding the pervasiveness of heart disease and stroke across genders, and equipping people with proper hands-only CPR training, organizers hope to increase the odds of surviving a cardiac event. Go Red for Women and AHA also said they advocate for "Good Samaritan" laws, which offer some protection to those who perform CPR.
The luncheon and subsequent education efforts are important because they save lives, health officials said.
"Go Red for Women is all about standing together and bringing awareness to how we can all fight the number one killer, which claims the lives of one in every three women," Andrea Gwyn, President of Mercy Health Perrysburg and St. Anne Hospitals, said. "Losing even one woman to this largely preventable and treatable disease is one too many."
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