Heartsfull of Spring at Mitchell's

Featuring Heart Attack Survivor and Author Eliz Greene An Evening of Inspiration, Spring Fashion, and Gourmet Indulgence to Benefit St. Vincent’s Women at Heart Program

  By DEBORAH COX

BRIDGEPORT, Connecticut, February 4 2014--St. Vincent’s  Medical Center Foundation will host its third annual “Heartsfull of Spring”  fundraiser on March 25 atMitchells in Westport from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm.

Guest Speaker Eliz Greene will present “A Healthy Heart for Busy Women.”  Greene was seven-months pregnant with twins when she suffered a massive heart attack. Her life changed — not only did she survive a ten-minute cardiac arrest, the cesarean delivery of her daughters and open-heart surgery, all on the same day — she gained new perspective and passion for life. She became determined to engage life, rather than just endure it.

Determined not to lose her new-found passion and to regain her health, Greene developed strategies to fit activity and healthy habits into her life. Drawing on her training as an adaptive movement specialist, she developed down-to-earth strategies for building activity into everyday life, eating better and managing stress. Greene is an author of four books, includingA Busy Woman’s Guide to A Healthy Heart. In 2010 she received the Heart Hero Award and continues to serve as a national spokesperson for the American Heart Association and is a favorite Go Red speaker.

Guests will be treated to a spring fashion show for women and men by Mitchell’s of Westport, and cocktails and gourmet hors d’oeuvres will be available throughout the evening.  The event will also feature a special silent auction.

Cardiologist and co-chair of the event, Dr. Anja Wagner stated, “This will be an inspiring evening with something for everyone, including fashion, delicious delicacies, and plenty of food for thought presented by a very motivating speaker.”

This is the third annualWoman at Heart fundraiser to support the St. Vincent’s Regina L. Cozza Center Woman at Heart program.  The event is entitled “Heartsfull of Spring” to encourage women to be proactive to foster active healthy hearts. “Proceeds from the evening will help support St. Vincent’s efforts to provide resources to life saving cardiac preventative screenings, education,accurate diagnosis and treatment of underserved women,” stated Dr. Wagner. Heart disease is the nation’s Number 1 killer of women.

The Women at Heart program reaches underserved women in our community who otherwise might not be able to afford or have access to cardiac preventative, educational, and screening services.  Women of lower income levels tend to be particularly vulnerable to heart disease because of poor nutrition and lifestyle circumstances.   Several women who have been reached by the Women at Heart Program have initially used the screenings as their only source of health care.  More than 1,160 women were served by the program thanks to proceeds from last year’s event. Mitchell’s of Westport is the host of the evening, and TD Bank is the presenting sponsor.  Additional sponsorships are still available by calling Deborah Cox at 203.382.2302. Chairpersons are Cardiologists Dr. Anja Wagner and Dr. Alon Ronan, fashion expert Mary Nicolia of Mitchells Westport, Attorney Joyce Riccio, and Maureen Hanley-Bellitto of TD Bank.

Tickets For “Hearts full ofSpring” are available for $125 per person and may be purchased online or through St. Vincent’s Foundation Office.  For more information or registration, visithttps://give.stvincents.org/hearts2014 or call the St. Vincent’s Foundation office at 203.576-5451.

St. Vincent’s Women at Heart

St. Vincent’sWomen at Heart at the Regina L. Cozza Center is a free or at-cost cardiovascular program created exclusively for women of all ages designed to provide a holistic, woman-specific program of education and prevention.Through the use of leading- edge technology, St. Vincent's Regional Heart & Vascular Center can help with early detection, diagnosis and proper treatment of heart disease in women. TheWomen at Heart program helps women lower their risk with discounted cardiovascular screenings, free risk assessment, educational seminars and lectures on cardiac issues for women, nutritional counseling,individualized exercise and fitness assessment, stress reduction and interactive programs to help women live healthier with a lower chance of developing heart disease. Members will also receive the freeUpbeats newsletter. Prevention opportunities and information about the latest treatments and research findings are also provided. Membership is free. For more information on this program, call203-576-6119 or toll-free Care Line at 1-877-255-SVHS (7847) or visitwww.stvincents.org

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