Quick, can you name the top killer of American women? Most get it wrong. Dead wrong. You have a chance to change this.
The fact is, too many women die each year because they don’t know heart disease is their number one killer. One in three women die of this largely preventable disease, that’s almost one woman every minute.
In the past, heart disease was viewed as a "man’s" disease and prevention and treatment measures for women were slighted. Women’s heart disease has also been overshadowed by marketing efforts to raise breast cancer awareness through “pink” marketing. While one in 30 American women die of breast cancer, about one in three women die from cardiovascular disease.
Friday, Feb. 5 is national Wear Red Day, a day we can mobilize to learn more about cardiac risks, disease prevention and treatment. The wear red movement started in 2002 when a red dress was introduced as a national symbol for women's heart disease. Now, the movement is a national awareness campaign involving many organizations. Organizers said American women need “an urgent wake up call” to protect their heart health.
Why is this wake-up call crucial?
• Cardiovascular disease kills approximately 450,000 women each year. That's about one every minute.
• More women die of cardiovascular disease than the next five causes of death combined, including all forms of cancer.
• Ninety percent of women have one or more risk factors for developing heart disease.
• One in five women believe that heart disease is her greatest health threat.
• Heart disease is largely preventable. In fact, 80 percent of cardiac events in women may be prevented if women, exercise, eat healthy and abstain from smoking.
Will you wear red this Friday? More importantly, will you seize the occasion and take steps to lower your risk for heart disease and heart attack? A healthy lifestyle and diet are key, as well as learning about your family’s heart history. There are many good articles and videos available on EmpowHER to assist you.You may want to meet with your healthcare provider to discuss specific steps to take to improve your heart health. If you use social media, consider adding red to your profile on Facebook and other sites to help spread the word.
Resources
Heart health and heart disease
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/heartdiseaseinwomen.html
https://www.empowher.com/condition/heart-disease
http://www.womenheart.org/
http://www.womenshealth.gov/faq/heart-disease.cfm
Wear Red Day
http://www.goredforwomen.org/WearRedDay/
http://www.goredforwomen.org/WearRedDay/kit/index.html
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/educational/hearttruth/events/wear-red.htm
http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/heart_truth_women/partners/registry.asp