Are you looking for the perfect gift this holiday season for your sister? Aunt? Mother? Grandmother? Girlfriends? This year, why not give the women in your life the gift of knowledge and empower them to beat heart disease? Despite education and national campaigns, heart disease kills more than 430,000 women in America alone each year and remains in the number one spot for cause of death of American women. To put it in perspective, this means that one out of every three women will die of heart related disease. The sad truth is that heart disease is preventable.
Preventing heart disease is the goal of the Tell 5 program sponsored by the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women. Committed to educating women and heart disease and improving heart health, the Tell 5 program is a tool designed to assist you in getting the word out to the women you love in your life. Participating in the Tell 5 program is easy: simply go to the Tell 5 page of the Go Red for Women website (https://www.goredforwomen.org/Tell5/Default.aspx), fill in the names and email addresses of five women you want to save from heart disease, and then click submit. (The American Heart Association does not keep these email addresses on file or share them with others.) It’s that easy - Go Red for Women does the rest.
Every woman will receive an email along with a free downloadable Heart Health Kit. A 10-page brochure, the Heart Health Kit contains a step-by-step guide to a healthier lifestyle, and tips for beating heart disease. Information is divided into five major areas that make a difference in heart health:
Health care: Contains information on how to get started on the path to a healthier heart, including tips for talking to your doctor. This section also provides information on Go Red Heart CheckUp (https://www.goredforwomen.org/hcu/index.aspx), a free online tool for assessing your risk of heart disease.
Diet and Nutrition: Contains great tips about nutrition including guidelines for dining out, along with tips for how to protect your heart health and still eat some of my personal favorites such as Mexican or Indian food. Several samples of great heart healthy recipes are also provided for your dining pleasure. Also, be certain to check out the My Fats Translator at www.myfatstranslator.com.
Physical Activity: Provides guidance for the amount of exercise needed along with guidance for starting an exercise program. Those interested in healthy hearts will also want to check out the Go Red BetterU (http://www.goredforwomen.org/betteru/index.aspx). BetterU is a 12-week program designed to help you get (and stay healthy). They program is free and offers coaching tools, online journaling, help with goal setting, and so forth.
Family Action: Focuses on tips for creating a healthy hearts family plan such as meal panning, exercise, limiting TV, and education about food labels. The Healthy Heart Kit also contains a printable family tree to assist in tracking family heart disease.
Community Action: Planning tips for spreading the word, volunteerism, learning CPR, and engaging businesses and civic organizations in heart health education.
If you’re looking for a little something extra for the women in your life this holiday season, let Go Red for Women play Santa and put a Healthy Heart Kit in their cyber-stocking.
For more information on Go Red For Women and their programs, see www.goredforwomen.org
Source
Tell 5 Women You Want Them To Live: Tell 5 Friends How They Can Fight Heart Disease, American Heart Association Go Red for Women, 2010, https://www.goredforwomen.org/Tell5/Default.aspx