According to the American Heart Association, more than 44% of women over the age of 20 are living with some form of cardiovascular disease. Despite the statistics, Barbara Collura didn’t expect she would be a heart attack survivor.

In March of last year, she felt shortness of breath at a concert. Then her jaw started hurting. Tests at the Emergency Room didn’t show anything, but she had symptoms for about a week.

“I was so out of breath. And I just came in the house. I called my sister who’s a nurse in Hartford and told her what was going on and she said you’re having a heart attack,” says Collura.

Updated tests showed 99% blockage in an artery. Looking back, the biggest health risk was her family history.

Her father survived two heart attacks in his 40s. Her mother died at 74 of a heart attack after getting two stents and her brother passed away when he was 44. Collura says her family history made her 95% more likely to develop a heart condition, something she hadn’t known this time last year.

“If you do have a family history, you’re one of those people who is going to need to be a little bit more careful than other people,” says Collura.

That’s part of the reason why the American Heart Association is asking people to Be the Beat. This month, the organization is pushing CPR training.

While Collura didn’t need CPR, she says she and her husband are looking to become certified, because they believe it can help save a life.

“It’s such an easy thing to learn. It’s such an easy thing to do and we all need to get on board and start because whether it’s a family member, somebody in the store, there may come a time when you need to learn that,” says Collura.