Hoosiers will come together in February to show their support for the fight against heart disease and stroke. American Heart Month, an annual celebration in February that began in 1964, urges Americans to join the battle against heart disease. A presidential proclamation each year pays tribute to researchers, physicians, public health education professionals and volunteers for their tireless efforts in preventing, treating, and researching heart disease.
Across the state and the nation, millions of people will don red attire on Friday, February 5, National Wear Red Day. Women and men throughout the country will be wearing red sweaters, red dresses, red ties or red dress pins to show their support of the American Heart Association’s mission to saves lives from the nation’s No. 1 killer.
The American Heart Association launched the Go Red for Women movement in 2004 to raise awareness about heart disease in women. In the United States, a woman dies from heart disease every 80 seconds making it the leading cause of death. Through Go Red for Women, the AHA is educating women that up to 80 percent of heart disease is preventable through healthy lifestyle changes that include:
• Healthy diet
• Increase physical activity
• Healthy blood pressure
• Healthy cholesterol
• Healthy blood sugar
• Healthy weight
• Quitting smoking
Every year the American Heart Association funds more than $180 million of research nationally, including more than $5 million at universities in Indiana. Thanks to advancements in treatment, mortality rates from heart disease have dropped more than 50 percent in the last 30 years, however, 1 in 3 deaths are still the result of heart disease.
By wearing red, participating in these events, and financially supporting the American Heart Association, Hoosiers will help save lives.
