Red is love. Red is passion. Red is life. The American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign embodies it all. During February, everyone concerned about heart disease — America’s No. 1 cause of death among women — is encouraged to wear red.
American Heart Association volunteers, donors, doctors, researchers and others will be wearing red because they have a passion for the cause. They give tirelessly of their time, talent and treasures to educate women — and everyone — about heart-healthy lifestyles, find new treatments and launch new studies that will help reduce the risks of heart disease and give us all longer, healthier lives.
Survivors of heart disease will be wearing red because they will be celebrating life and sharing their stories of hope. These are women of all backgrounds and all economic levels of society, because heart disease impacts everyone.
We hope you will wear red throughout the month of February and join the thousands of people across the country who are raising awareness about heart disease. Go Red for Women is a nationwide year-round campaign. Friday, Feb. 2 is National Wear Red Day, and here in Cleveland more than 800 women will be wearing red that morning as they attend the Go Red for Women special event breakfast, fashion show and health expo at the Renaissance Hotel. Many of these women — volunteers, doctors, survivors and others — are featured in this special supplement to Cleveland Magazine, and a few of them have shared their inspiring stories.
You, too, can be part of this movement. To learn how, simply go to www.americanheart.org or go to www.goredforwomen.org where you can check your heart disease risks using the online Go Red Heart Checkup personal heart-health evaluation. The goal of the American Heart Association is to get 1 million women to take part in this online checkup — and save lives by preventing heart disease. Show your love. Show your passion. Celebrate life. Go Red.
Dawn Clark Marc S. Penn, M.D., Ph.D. Peter A. Rome
Vice President, Cleveland Board President Board Chairman
Take it to Heart
University Hospitals and the American Heart Associationare committed topromoting women’s heart health.
At the University Hospitals Heart & Vascular Institute, staff members know that education, awareness and early detection of heart disease are the keys to creating a heart-healthy community. That’s why they’ve partnered with the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign.
The Go Red for Women campaign has gained national momentum toward heightening awareness during its quest to educate women on the signs of heart disease. A mere 13 percent of women say they believe that heart disease and stroke are the greatest health threats to women. Many women believe that cancer is more of a threat, but nearly twice as many women in the United States die of heart disease and stroke than from all forms of cancer.
The good news is that heart disease is mostly preventable — so understanding the disease and how to take charge of your risk factors can make a lifesaving difference to every woman.
The physicians and staff at the University Hospitals Heart & Vascular Institute, in conjunction with the American Heart Association, are committed to helping you reduce your risk of heart disease. You can start prevention now by simply knowing your risk factors. These range from inactivity and heredity to obesity, smoking, high blood pressure and high blood lipid and cholesterol levels.
Once you identify the areas at which you may be at risk, you can make small lifestyle modifications — such as change in diet, increased exercise and smoking cessation — to lessen your chance of heart disease. In addition, you can request a vascular screening, which can check for disease of the arteries, veins and lymph vessels as well as blood disorders that affect circulation. Screenings take less than 15 minutes and can detect your risk of stroke, aneurysms and poor circulation.
University Hospitals is proud to stand alongside other area community leaders and businesses as it actively takes a stand against heart disease. With the tireless efforts of those involved in this cause we all can make greater strides toward reducing risk and ensuring women live a healthy, longer life.
University Hospitals Heart & Vascular Institute encourages you to celebrate the energy, passion and power of the 2007 American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women movement to help eradicate this disease.
