If you haven't met the Sister to Sister Foundation, let me introduce you. It's pretty cool.
Sister to Sister is the nation's only large-scale provider of free heart-disease screenings. Did you catch that f-word? Free. They have so far screened more than 80,000 women across the country. They attend Women's Heart Day Fairs, and are also very involved in helping women find local resources and support. For free.
Why?
Because 1 in 4 women will die of the disease, even though it's preventable.
The website, at http://www.sistertosister.org/ , is fun, helpful and full of information. You can find a heart-healthy recipe, learn about events in your area, chat in an online community and plan walking routes in your neighborhood (this feature is fascinating -- you type in your address, plot your walk on a map of your neighborhood, and the website gives you distances!)
And here's the page where you can find a free screening near you:
http://www.sistertosister.org/health-tools/cardiac-screening
You put in your address, and up pops a list of locations where you can go to be screened. Screenings check cholesterol (HDL and LDL), triglycerides, blood glucose, blood pressure, and Body Mass Index (BMI), unless otherwise noted. The locations can be a health fair, an outpatient clinic, a hospital or even a retail health care provider (like a drugstore, for instance). Each listing says "Free" or a cost if there is one.
Sister to Sister has a relationship with The Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School and The Johns Hopkins Medical Center, so they are on top of the latest research about women's health. Bookmark it, and then pass it on!