NewsYour Health Matters

Actions

National Go Red Day raising awareness as cardiac events in young women on the rise

Go Red for Women on National Wear Red Day
Posted at 5:09 AM, Feb 05, 2021
and last updated 2021-02-05 05:09:47-05

Wear your scarlet, ruby and cherry hues to bring awareness to the number one health threat to women.

Friday is National Go Red Day.

The American Heart Association says 1 in 3 women die from cardiovascular disease. That’s more than all forms of cancer combined.

The American Heart Association’s newly released 2021 Heart Disease & Stroke Statistics shows the youngest most diverse women are the least aware that cardiovascular disease is their greatest health threat.

“It’s especially concerning because Black and Hispanic women are disproportionately impacted by heart disease and stroke and then when we look at the bigger picture, only 17% of women consider heart disease or stroke to be their greatest risk factor affecting Americans today,” explained Palm Beach County’s AHA Executive Director Kayla Fox.

A new initiative in Palm Beach County called Women of Impact has 16 participants who will go on a 9-week journey. They will work to improve their personal health while also making the community more aware of the issue.

“So when we think about the warning signs that could show up in women, it could be sweating, it could be pressure in the chest, it could be nausea, it could be jaw pain and some of those things we think could come from everyday life, but they could be leading to you having a heart attack,” Fox said.

The American Heart Association says heart disease kills one woman every 80 seconds and cardiac events are on the rise in young women in their 20s.

“It’s so important to know our numbers so when we think about going to our annual checkups, make sure we’re doing that, we’re knowing our total cholesterol, our HDL which is that good cholesterol number, where does our blood pressure stand, blood sugar. All of those things. Those can help us determine if we’re at higher risk for having a heart condition,” Fox said

You can use the hashtags #WearRedAndGive and #PBGoRed on social media to show how you’re going red.

The Annual Palm Beach County Go Red for Women Luncheon will be held virtually again this year on April 23.

Learn more here.