Wear Red for a Million Hearts

Get involved and show your commitment to help prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes in the next five years. Start with yourself and start now. Wear red on February 3, National Wear Red Day®, the first Friday in American Heart Month.

Here are 10 things women can do to help raise awareness about heart disease, take steps to improve their health and the health of others, and help prevent one million heart attacks and strokes:

1. Help spread the message.
   Serve heart-healthy meals and snacks routinely and at special events. Encourage others to be physically active, both kids and adults. Increase awareness and support health at work, home, school, play, and worship.

CDC

2. Know the facts about heart disease.
   • Heart disease is the leading killer of women in the United States.
   • Heart disease is the leading cause of death for African American and White women. For Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Asian American women, heart disease is second only to cancer.
   • Heart disease killed 25% of women who died in 2008—one in every four.
   • Even if you have no symptoms, you may still be at risk for heart disease.

3. Know your risk for heart disease and heart attack.
   Some conditions and some lifestyle factors can put women at a higher risk for getting heart disease. Knowing your risk factors can help you to adjust your lifestyle and reduce your chances of having a heart attack or stroke.

Heart Attack Disease Risk Factors

Heart Attack Risk Calculator

4. Make healthy choices every day.
   You can lower your risk of heart disease and heart attack by taking simple steps every day.
   • Eat a healthy diet.
   • Maintain a healthy weight.
   • Be active. Exercise regularly.
   • Be smoke-free.
   • Limit alcohol use.

Prevention: What You Can Do

5. Know the signs and symptoms of a heart attack.
   A woman suffers a heart attack every 90 seconds in the United States. If you think you or someone you know is having a heart attack, call 9-1-1 immediately. The good news is that if you seek help quickly, treatment can save your life and prevent permanent damage to your heart muscle. Treatment works best if given within 1 hour of when symptoms begin. Common symptoms are:
   • Unusually heavy pressure on the chest, like there's a ton of weight on you
   • Sharp upper body pain in the neck, back, and jaw
   • Severe shortness of breath
   • Cold sweats (not hot flashes from menopause)
   • Unusual or unexplained fatigue (tiredness)
   • Unfamiliar dizziness or light-headedness
   • Unexplained nausea (feeling sick to the stomach) or vomiting

Make the Call. Don't Miss a Beat.

6. Prevent or manage any medical condition you might have.
   One way to do that is learn and improve the ABCS of health. Keep the ABCS in mind every day and especially when you talk to your doctor:
   • Appropriate Aspirin Therapy
   • Blood Pressure Control
   • Cholesterol Control
   • Smoking Cessation

Remember Your ABCS

7. Talk to your doctor about your concerns.
   Menopausal hormone therapy was once thought to lower the risk of heart attack and stroke for women with heart disease. But research now shows that women with heart disease should not take hormone therapy. Talk to your doctor and ask questions to better understand your health.

Menopausal Hormone Therapy and Heart Disease

8. Join Million Hearts™
   and find out how you can help prevent one million heart attacks and strokes in the next five years, at home, where you work, and in your community.

Million Hearts™

9. Send an e-card.
   Help get the message out that heart disease and stroke is preventable and everyone can take simple steps to improve health. Let others know you care about their health too.

Million Hearts™ e-cards

Heart Health e-cards

10. Wear red on Friday, February 3, National Wear Red Day®
    to show support for women's heart health. Protect your heart by following a healthy lifestyle.

National Wear Red Day®

More Information

• Million Hearts™
• The Heart Truth
• Women's Health
• American Heart Association, Go Red for Women