One day a year, what you wear could help save life.
For more than 16 years, New Jersey businesses, schools, media, organizations, clubs and individuals have banded together to end heart disease and stroke in women. Each year, the first Friday in February, National Wear Red Day, has helped raise awareness and funds for women’s No. 1 health threat – cardiovascular disease.
Cardiovascular disease kills one woman every 80 seconds and takes more lives than all forms of cancer combined. Heart disease and stroke also impact the lives of one in three women – or a third of mothers, sisters and friends – and cardiac events are on the rise in young women in their 20s.
While 80 percent of cardiovascular diseases can be prevented through modest changes to diet and lifestyle, disparities in care for women’s heart and brain health continue to exist. In addition, heart disease and stroke symptoms can present differently in women compared to men. Women also make up less than half of all clinical trial participants globally, with women of color only accounting for three percent. As a result, more research is needed to close gender disparity gaps when it comes to cardiovascular research, treatment and care.
It’s time to change history. It’s time to come together for the women in our lives and take a stand against heart disease and stroke.
The American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women movement, nationally sponsored by CVS Health, encourages you to show your support by wearing red and giving on Friday, February 7 and through the month of February to help save lives of women in New Jersey and around the world.
Here’s how you can join Go Red for Women in support of women’s health:
- Wear red on National Wear Red Day, Friday, Feb. 7, 2020 to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease – the leading cause of death in women. Download the FREE National Wear Red Day Resource Kit to coordinate an event with your school, workplace or organization. Or email [email protected] to learn more.
- Make a donation to support the lifesaving work of the American Heart Association at WearRedDay.org
- CVS Health is the national sponsor of the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Movement and will be offering no-cost heart-health screenings at MinuteClinic® locations nationwide every Thursday in February.
- Sign up to participate in the lifesaving clinical trial research through the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women movement and Verily’s Project Baseline: Research Goes Red initiative.
- Join the conversation by using #NJGoRed and #WearRedAndGive on social media.
Cardiovascular diseases continue to be a woman’s greatest health threat. To treat, beat and prevent heart disease and stroke, women should understand family health history, know their five key personal health numbers – these help determine risk for heart disease and stroke: total cholesterol, HDL (good) cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar and body mass index – and make healthy behavior changes like moving more, eating smart and managing blood pressure.
For more information on getting involved with Go Red for Women, visit www.goredforwomen.org.