WellStar West Georgia Medical Center will host its 12th annual Heart Truth for Women luncheon on Thursday, Feb. 21. The Heart Truth is a program underneath the umbrella of the National Institutes of Health and helps raise awareness for women’s risk of heart disease, which ranks as the No. 1 killer of women in the United States. The luncheon will be hosted at the Callaway Conference Center, located on the campus of West Georgia Technical College, and will be held from 12-1:30 p.m.

“This is always related to awareness and heart health for women and how heart attacks differ for women compared to men, what different problems can develop and signs of heart attacks,” said Natalie Shelton, Communications Specialist with WellStar. “We will also be recognizing the members of our medical staff who are cardiologists and advanced care providers, which includes doctors from Emory.” 

The guest speaker will be Dr. Kathryn McFarland from Emory at LaGrange. Dr. McFarland specializes in both cardiology and internal medicine, and will bring a local voice to the annual luncheon. The title of the talk she will give is ‘Great Mimickers: Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection and Apical Ballooning Syndrome.’ In year’s past, the event has invited keynote speakers from other communities to address the luncheon crowd, but that will be different this year. 

“This is one of the first times we’ve ever had a local person be our featured guest speaker,” Shelton said. “With Dr. McFarland being at Emory and being a member of our medical staff here at WellStar West Georgia, this one will be more laser-focused on our community.” 

The event will also see a live performance from Dr. Tom Gore and the Arrhythmias, a band made up of local doctors including Gore, Rod Duraski, Vincent Scoglietti and Mel Stewart as well as RN Sarah Schanchee. 

“They performed at our physician holiday party, and they are so much fun,” Shelton said. 

Tickets are $30, while a table for 10 can be purchased for $250. To reserve a seat, call (706) 845-3600.