Ladies: Go Red for better health
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EmailRed Day is Feb. 6, 2015; bring awareness to women’s heart disease.
The last decade has brought a new movement of raising awareness in women’s heart health. Heart disease is the number one killer of women. Heart disease or coronary heart disease can lead to a heart attack when an artery becomes blocked. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, cardiovascular diseases include heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, angina and rheumatic heart disease.
Risk factors for heart disease include having a family history, high cholesterol and diabetes. To help prevent heart disease exercise regularly, eat heathy, maintain a healthy weight and don’t smoke. One in three women die of heart disease, often because symptoms of heart disease in women are different than men and heart related studies have focused mostly on men.
This is where awareness is important. Women who “Go Red” are more likely to make better choices because it is focused on a lifestyle change, compared to one day. The American Heart Association’s (AHA) Go Red for Women explains what this means.
G: Get your numbers – your blood pressure and cholesterol.
O: Own your lifestyle – stop smoking, lose weight, exercise and eat healthy.
R: Raise your voice – advocate for more women related research and education.
E: Educate your family – make healthy food choices and be active as a family.
D: Don’t be silent – show your support with a donation of time and money.
Educate yourself about how heart disease is different for women and men, including the signs of a heart attack. Both men and women may experience chest pain or discomfort, but women are more likely to experience other symptoms. Symptoms may often be dismissed or ignored, like pressure in the center of the chest that last more than a few minutes and continues to return. Other symptoms include shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting or pain in the back or jaw. A heart attack is not usually the piercing pain like we see in the movies, so people brush off symptoms until it’s too late.
Michigan State University Extension recommends that you talk to your doctor about your risk factors for heart disease. Go Red on Feb. 6, 2015 with lipstick, nail polish, a scarf or sweater. For one day, make a visible effort to raise awareness. Remember that fighting heart disease means living a healthy lifestyle every day.
