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Heart disease runs in Maria Freburgs family, but she isnt too concerned. Instead of worrying, shes acknowledging and addressing the threat before it develops.
I have an opportunity to control the situation, said Freburg. Education and proactive efforts to reduce risk factors are the tools shes using to stay healthy.
Freburg is the Westchester County and Southern Fairfield County market manager for Webster Bank. She trains all of the branch managers throughout the region. As someone who loves to give back to her community, Freburg appreciates that many of the banks charitable endeavors fall under her watch.
Heart disease remains the No. 1 killer of men and women in the nation, though cancer tends to steal the attention. We have the NFL doing breast cancer awareness in October. You see all of these big guys wearing pink and it raises a lot of awareness, said Freburg.
To help focus the public eye on heart disease, especially in women, Webster Bank is a sponsor for the annual Go Red luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich. The event is a great tool for giving women the education and the tools and support they need to take control of their lives and beat what is generally a preventable disease, Freburg said.
The disease has put both Freburgs father and her aunt's sister in the hospital with congestive heart failure. She said she also lost her aunt to the disease. They know it runs in the family, but Freburg said she worries that her relatives dont grasp the weight of the disease.
The American Heart Association, and the Westchester and Fairfield branch in particular, is good at providing education and support all year round, she said. Freburg applauds the annual Go Red luncheon for helping mothers and wives to understand they need to take care of themselves as well as those around them.
Often women are great multitaskers and nurturers, always looking out for the well-being of someone else. But when it comes to themselves, they have to learn to be able to make time evaluate their own health and stress, said Freburg. "We have to ask ourselves if we need help and that is something a lot of women are not comfortable with."
The 2012 Go Red for Women luncheon will take place March 8 at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich. You can learn more about this years event at the event website.
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