The American Heart Association’s 4th Annual Go Red for Women Event will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Feb. 29 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Albuquerque.

This conference is designed to create an emotional, informative atmosphere to encourage women in our community to become champions of their own health. The theme incorporates a woman’s influence: in the community, at home, and at work.

The conference will feature heart health screenings with a Blue Cross/Blue Shield care van from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m., plus physician panels, a silent auction, a heart healthy lunch, and interactive exhibits. The luncheon starts at noon. Movie and television personality Nana Visitor will be the keynote speaker for the luncheon. She will talk about how her practical approach to taking tiny new steps in her busy world contributed to positive lifestyle changes. Nana Visitor is famous for playing Major Kira Nerys in the television series “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and she currently stars in the television series “Wildfire,” which is filmed in New Mexico.

Conference organizers hope to attract women who have the ability to make an impact—women who work, live, and volunteer in the community, women who are driven by a desire to make a difference and are action-oriented - and the men who support them. Event goals are to raise $175,000, create a venue that makes heart disease relevant to women, increase understanding that good heart health is essential, and to educate and create a call-to-action regarding women’s heart health.

Betty Chao, Westech International, Inc., is this year’s event chairman. The event is presented by Lovelace Health System. For more information, contact Wendy Stires at (505) 353-5800 or by email at wendy.stires@heart.org.