Wear Red Day Celebrated To Raise Heart Disease Awareness

Yesterday, February 5 was Wear Red Day, a day when women across the United States were called upon to wear one article of clothing that is red. This was in order to show support for and raise awareness of women’s heart disease.

According to this write up, one third of women will die from cardiovascular disease which is the No1 killer in the country.  Another shocking statistic: Ninety percent of women have one or more risk factors for developing heart disease.

Wear red day is meant to talk about cardiovascular disease, making people aware of its risks, and celebrating those who have managed to come out of it unscathed.

While there is little one can do about one’s genes (we can pick our friends not our parents after all) we can do all that we can about eating right, exercising,  cutting out smoking and cutting down on drinking.

It is also important to get regular checkups and be honest with the doctor. Don’t be either brave or scared, do what is required to be done for cardiovascular health. If tests and follow-ups are required, get those done. This is not about later, or I don’t have the time.

Symptoms to be watching out for: chest discomfort is the most obvious, then there is breaking out into a cold sweat and experiencing shortness of breath, nausea, and pain in the back or jaw.  This is not a message just for the overweight, or just men or just women; everyone fat or thin needs to get on board.