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Dr. Marla Koroly, associate ambulatory physician executive for Northwell Health’s Westchester and Connecticut regions, has been named the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Westchester 2024 Woman of Impact Winner for her work to raise funds and spread awareness in the fight against heart disease and stroke in women and improve health and well-being in the local community. In the United States, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women, claiming the lives of 1 in 3 women.

Over the course of nine weeks, Dr. Koroly, along with a team of family, friends, and colleagues, competed for the Woman of Impact title by participating in various community awareness and fundraising activities. After raising critical funds and driving women’s health education initiatives, including a community women’s heart health educational event, Dr. Koroly was named this year’s winner. The Woman of Impact campaign is part of the American Heart Association’s signature Go Red for Women’s movement, a comprehensive platform designed more than two decades ago to increase women’s heart health awareness and serve as a catalyst for change to improve the lives of women globally.

“In participating in the Women of Impact campaign, it was important for me because heart disease is a woman’s number one health threat, and not enough women recognize that,” said Dr. Koroly. “I am honored to have received this recognition, but most importantly, I am proud of what we, all of the women nominated for this recognition, have accomplished together over the last nine weeks to support the Go Red for Women movement and the future of women’s heart health.”

The Woman of Impact campaign launched in over 100 cities on National Wear Red Day, February 2. In Westchester, five community leaders were nominated to participate. Collectively, this year’s Westchester nominees trained over 100 people in Hands-Only CPR and raised over $50,000 for the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women movement.

Other local nominees included: Christina Collins, NeverStopMoving365; Alice Schoen, Project Adam NY; Dana Colasante, Project Adam NY; and Betty Wu, Franklin Templeton Investments.

“We are so grateful to Dr. Koroly and all of our nominees for their work elevating the Go Red for Women message and raising critical funds in support of our local mission,” said Cara Pensabene, M.D., Vice President, Global Medical Director at Mastercard and the 2024 Chair of Go Red for Women in Westchester/Fairfield Counties. “While our work is far from finished, we’ve made considerable progress. Westchester and Fairfield are stronger, and our future is brighter.”

Women naturally experience unique life stages that increase their risk of developing cardiovascular disease over the course of their lifetime. While the large majority of cardiac events can be prevented, cardiovascular disease continues to be a woman’s greatest health threat, as nearly 45% of women over age 20 are living with some form of CVD.   Women involved in Woman of Impact are paving the way for the future of women’s heart health and enabling more women to live longer and healthier lives.