Love Your Heart During February

New York City and the rest of the country will Go Red For Women during February, American Heart Month.

While Americans commemorate matters of the heart in a variety of ways, for the American Heart Association (AHA) February is a time to intensify awareness, knowledge, and prevention of cardiovascular disease, by urging women to “Love Your Heart”.

The American Heart Association’s national theme for 2006 American Heart Month “Go Red For Women”, is a national movement to raise awareness that heart disease is the number one killer and number one health risk for women, and to have women take action to improve their heart health.

February 3 will mark the third annual National Wear Red Day for Women, a massive national public awareness day to focus on cardiovascular disease.

Sponsored by Macy’s and Pfizer Inc., with additional support from Bayer and PacifiCare, the American Heart Association Go Red For Women movement captures the energy, passion and intelligence of women to work collectively to wipe out heart disease. In two years, Go Red For Women has grown from a grassroots campaign to a vibrant national movement. Using the simple motto “Love Your Heart”, Go Red For Women aims to mobilize women, men, celebrities, healthcare providers, politicians, and others to embrace and elevate the cause of women and cardiovascular disease. For more information, resources and hope, call the American Heart Association Go Red For Women hotline at 888-MY-HEART (888694-3278) or visit www.GoRedForWomen.org.

By loving their hearts, women can save them and live longer, stronger lives. The “Love Your Heart” gesture is about a woman taking a moment for herself and her life. By paying more attention to her heart she can appreciate her health, her life and her loved ones.

Nearly 500,000 women die annually from cardiovascular diseases, according to the American Heart Association, and a woman is 10 times as likely to die from heart disease as from breast cancer. American Heart Month and “Wear Red Day” activities are taking place throughout New York City and the country. For more information about local activities, the American Heart Association Go Red For Women movement, February 3 NationalWear Red Day for Women, or to obtain a Wear Red Day casual/dress/wear red kit, call the AHAat 212-878-5900.

In 1997, the American Heart Association started the women and heart disease movement when it launched “Take Wellness To Heart” awareness campaign by women for women. Today, the association continues to play a leading role in educating women about their risks for heart disease and providing them with tools to lead heart-healthy lives through the Go Red For Women movement.

In February 2004, the American Heart Association launched Go Red For Women extending the 1977 campaign. Go Red For Women captures women’s energy, passion and power to band together and collectively wipe out heart disease.

Go Red For Women campaign for 2006 includes:

•Love Your Heart: encouraging women to love their hearts by visiting their healthcare providers to learn how to incorporate hearthealthy habits into their daily lives.

•The Red Dress Pin: shows support for women and the heart disease movement. To get a free pin, call 888-MY-HEART.

•National WearRed Day ForWomen: show the world you passionately support the movement to improve women’s heart health and save lives by wearing a red dress, red tee-shirt or red lipstick.

•National/Local Monuments Going Red: sites will be illuminated in red during the first week of February.

•Go Red ForWomen: State of the Heart: In February, the American Heart Association will announce several gender-specific scientific statments in a State of the Heart Annual Report that provides a snapshot of women and heart disease.

•Consumer Education: materials such as a cookbook, brochures, wallet cards, bookmarks, posters, Web alerts, screen savers or e-cards are available.

•Physician’s Toolkit: such as appointment cards, a summer of new prevention guidelines, patient reports, red dress pins, wallet cards, an online monthly newsletter have been distributed to nearly 38,000 physicians.

Women’s Heart Disease/Stroke Risk Factor Statistics:

•High blood pressure is more prevalent in women than men: Among Americans age 20+ 31.0 percent of non-Hispanic white females have high blood pressure as compared with 30.6 percent of males; 45.4 percent of non-Hispanic black females compared with 41.8 percent of males and 28.7 percent of Mexican-American females compared to 27.8 percent of males.

High blood pressure is a leading cause of stroke. More men than women have high blood pressure until age 45; from 45 to 54 the percentage of women with high blood pressure becomes slightly higher than males.

The prevalence of high blood pressure is two to three times more common in women taking oral contraceptives, and who are older and obese.

•Smoking is higher among younger females: Among women 18+, 18.5 percent are at increased risk for a heart attack or stroke.

White women ages 18-24 from families with lower education levels is substantially higher than among black and Mexican-American youths from families with similar education levels, while 61 percent of young white women from this group are current smokers as compared to 35 percent of minority youth.

Americans age 18+, 20.4 percent of nonHispanic white females smoke, compared with 24.1 percent of males; 17.2 percent of nonHispanic black females smoke, compared with 23.9 percent of males and 10.9 percent of Hispanic smoke, compared with 18.9 percent of males.

•Cholesterol: The risk of heart attack in men and women is much higher when they have lower HDL levels (below 40 mg/dL) and higher total cholesterol levels (above 240 mg/dL) than when they have one of the following two risk factors.

Among Americans age 20+, 52.1 percent of non-Hispanic white females have total blood cholesterol levels of 200 mg/dL or higher, compared with 48.9 percent of males; 46.8 percent of nonHispanic black females have total blood cholesterol levels of 200 mg/dL or higher, compared with 41.6 percent of males and 44.8 percent of Mexican-American have total blood cholesterol levels of 200 mg/dL or higher, compared with 51.9 percent of males.

•Physical Inactivity: Inactivity is more prevalent among women than men, blacks and Hispanics than whites, older than younger and among the less affluent than more affluent.

In a study of some 72,000 female nurses moderately intense physical activity such as walking is associated with a substantial reduction in the risk of stroke when compared with physical activity done at an average or casual pace.

Among Americans age 18+, 21.6 percent of non-Hispanic white females are physically inactive, compared with 18.4 percent of males; 33.9 percent of non-Hispanic black females are physically inactive, compared with 27.0 percent of males and 39.6 percent of Hispanic are physically inactive, compared with 32.5 percent of males.

•Overweight and obesity: Americans age 20+, 57.2 percent of non-Hispanic white females are overweight or obese, compared with 69.4 percent of males; 77.2 percent of non-Hispanic black females are overweight or obese, compared with 62.9 percent of males and 71.7 percent of Mexican-American are overweight or obese, compared with 73.1 percent of males, and 38.9 percent of Hispanics or Latinos age 18+ are overweight and 24-7 are obese.

•Diabetes: At least 65 percent of people with diabetes will die of some form of heart or blood vessel disease. Adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates about two to four times higher than those without; the risk for stroke is two to four times higher; age-adjusted cardiovascular disease is twice as high, and the hospital discharge rate is almost four times the rate of women without diabetes.

Among Americans age 20+, 4.7 percent of non-Hispanic white females have physician-diagnosed diabetes, compared with 6.2 percent of males; 12.6 percent of non-Hispanic black females have physician-diagnosed diabetes, compared with 10.3 percent of males and 11.3 percent of Mexican-American females have physiciandiagnosed diabetes, compared with 10.4 percent of males.

Host A Women’s Heart

Healthy PJ Party Feb. 3 : The American Heart Association is encouraging women to invite their friends to an old-fashioned sleepover on Friday, February 3, National Wear Red for Women Day.

Anyone interested in hosting a pajama party should call the American Heart Association New York City office to receive a pajama party kit inside a free “Go Red for Women” tote bag filled with ideas for a fun and heart-healthy PJ party. The kit includes invitations, Go Red for Women information booklets, red dress pins, pajama party ideas and recipes. For more information, call 212878-5931 or go to www.americanheart.org.