Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Big ‘Circle of Red’ aims to hem in heart disease
ROGERS — Heart disease is facing a serious threat in Northwest Arkansas.
A total of 86 women have volunteered their time and resources to become members of the “Circle of Red” for the Northwest Arkansas chapter of the American Heart Association. It’s the largest Circle of Red in the country, according to the heart association’s social events director, Christina Hinds, and more than double the size it was just two years ago.
Circle members serve as high-profile ambassadors for the local chapter, and strive to increase awareness of the grave risks heart disease poses to women. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women in the United States, annually causing more deaths than all forms of cancer combined.
“We have a great heart association here,” says circle member Dijuana Lewis of Rogers. “They have won awards year after year, throughout the entire nation. [The circle’s size] is because they really believe in it. They’re really committed, and I think they drive our success.”
Lewis and another circle member, Nancy Mueller of Rogers, are the co-chairmen of the 2013 Go Red for Women event, which begins at 9 a.m. Feb. 12 at the John Q. Hammons Convention Center in Rogers. Tickets to the event are $75 apiece. ( When women join the circle, they make a $1,000 commitment and promise to host a table of 10 women at the Go Red event.)
Like most things the local heart association chapter does, Go Red is a huge event, with some 1,800 women expected to attend. Morning events cover nutrition, fitness, beauty and fashion. In addition, Northwest Health System will be doing health screenings
during the morning session, which lasts until 11 a.m.
“It’s typical for a woman to put everyone else first,” Mueller says. “They put their husband or children or work first, and they just ignore the symptoms. We’re trying to help women just be more aware.”
The morning also features a “Purseonality” auction, in which around 75 individually made purses are auctioned off to benefit the heart association.
Lunch begins at 11 a. m. There is a fashion show and jewelry raffle, followed by the event’s featured speaker, ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit.
“[Heart disease] is one of those silent killers that people don’t know about,” says Lewis, an executive with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and a mother of two. “I came from the healthcare industry, and have realized we have so much expense and so many women [affected by heart disease]. It’s just a really worthy cause.”
Heart disease doesn’t run in Lewis’ family, but because of certain qualifying conditions, every day she takes a cholesterol- lowering drug (statin).
Meanwhile, heart disease has hit Mueller’s family hard. Her mother died from it at age 67, and it killed her brother at 37. As a result, she must undergo regular echocardiograms, and her three children do so approximately every three years.
The memory of her mother and brother is what inspired Mueller to get involved with the Circle of Red, and to cochair the Go Red event.
“This was a great opportunity,” Mueller says. “[We want people] to be aware of your heart health — to have a healthy diet, maintain a normal weight and check your cholesterol levels.”
Friday is National Wear Red Day. On that day, heart association chapters across the country ask people to wear red items of clothing — be they a skirt, tie, or a signature Red Dress pin — in order to raise awareness of heart disease. For more information about the 2013 Go Red for Women event, call (479) 442-6540 or visit heart. org/nwagoredluncheon.