Heart disease kills more women than all forms of cancer combined. Sadly, most women don’t notice the symptoms of heart disease until it’s too late, which is why heart disease has been called the silent killer. But heart disease is no match for the power of women’s voices.
The American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women is asking all women to Go Red by wearing red, living a healthy lifestyle, and speaking red by spreading the message that heart disease is affecting mothers, daughters, sisters and friends.
For more than a decade, millions of women have united to raise their voices about this silent killer. While there’s been remarkable progress, nearly 1,100 women are still dying each day.
You can raise awareness by taking part in National Wear Red Day on Friday, February 7. The American Heart Association encourages every organization, home and community in Brevard to Go Red and speak out against this silent killer. Efforts continue throughout the month of February for American Heart Month.
To learn more about, visit GoRedForWomen.org or Heart.org. To get involved locally or to share your Go Red efforts, post to the Brevard American Heart Association’s Facebook page.
Sweating. Pressure. Nausea. Jaw pain.
Believe it or not, these are all symptoms of a heart attack in women. They are also symptoms that women often brush off as the flu, stress or simply feeling under the weather — which could put their lives in jeopardy.
Symptoms of a heart attack:
- Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of your chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back.
- Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
- Shortness of breath, with or without chest discomfort.
- Other signs such as breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
- As with men, the most common heart attack symptom in women is chest pain or discomfort. But it’s important to note that women are more likely to experience the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain.
Consider these facts:
- Go Red Fact 1: Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women. Ninety percent of women have one or more risk factors for developing heart disease.
- Go Red Fact 2: Heart disease kills more women than all forms of cancer combined, but is often undiagnosed.
- One in 30 women die from breast cancer each year. One in 3 dies of cardiovascular disease, yet only 1 in 5 American women believe that heart disease is their greatest health threat.
- Go Red Fact 3: Cardiovascular disease kills more women than men. Since 1984, more women than men have died each year from heart disease and stroke and the gap between men and women’s survival continues to widen.
- Go Red Fact 4: Heart disease affects women of all ethnicities. Of African-American women ages 20 and older, 48.9 percent have cardiovascular disease. Yet, only 20 percent believe they are at risk. Hispanic women are likely to develop heart disease 10 years earlier than Caucasian women. Yet only three in 10 say they have been informed that they are at higher risk.
- Go Red Fact 5: Women who are involved with the Go Red movement live healthier lives. Nearly 90 percent have made at least one healthy behavior change.
- Go Red Fact 6: When you join Go Red and share your story today, more lives will be saved tomorrow. More than 627,000 women have been saved from heart disease and 330 fewer women are dying per day.
