......revelations of one woman's reality of life, love, and all things hopeful...

Friday, February 6, 2009

HEART for Women


Today is National Wear Red Day. Oops...I guess I missed it.


But tomorrow is the Throbbing Heart 5K Run/Walk at Goosepond in Scottsboro. I plan to participate, so perhaps I am doing my part to decrease the risk of heart disease in my life as well as in the lives of many others. My cousins Ashleigh and Chris are coming from Culman to participate, too, and I can't wait to see them.


Untreated heart disease in women is a very real problem. I believe to my very core that my mother had a heart attack that was undiagnosed...one week later she had another one that she did not survive.


Did you know...
  • Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women and stroke is the No. 3 killer of women. Heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases kill more women than the next five causes of death combined

  • Since 1979, the death rate for heart disease in men has declined by more than 17 percent, but the death rate for women has declined by only 2.5 percent over this same period

  • More than 90 percent of primary care physicians don’t know that heart disease kills more women each year than men.

  • Women are less likely than men to receive certain diagnostic testing and treatments, such as angioplasties and stents, for cardiovascular diseases.

  • Drug and medical device effectiveness may differ in women and men, yet doctors and researchers often don’t know how safe and effective a particular medicine or device is for women.

You can help. Read more about the HEART for Women Act (Heart Disease Education, Analysis and Research, and Treatment Act) which has already been passed in the US House of Representatives and will be presented in the Senate this month. You can send a letter to your congressman directly from HERE. Just fill out your information in the section on the right side of the page, and the American Heart Association will send the letter for you! It's that easy!

1 comment:

by-HIS-Grace said...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Important information too. Have fun at the walk.