Wearing red on Fridays can signify various things, including paying tribute to all military veterans. However, the first Friday of February is also National Wear Red Day for a very different reason. This date signifies the annual campaign to raise awareness about heart disease in women. Even one century ago, little was known about heart disease and even less about how it affected women. Considered a man’s disease, even the American Heart Association hosted a conference in the 1960s theme, “How Can I Help My Husband Cope with Heart Disease?” Women were mistakenly believed to have some natural protection from heart disease until their hormone levels dropped during menopause.
In the mid-1980s, studies found that the oversight was due to women being overlooked in studies, which focused primarily on middle-aged men. Further studies found signs of heart attack issues and stroke symptoms did not match the earlier assumptions of what constituted cardiovascular risk. By the turn of the century, researchers realized that while women tended to develop heart disease about 10 years later than men, more women were dying form it. And women under age 65 were twice as likely to die from a heart attack as their male peers.
In 2004, the Heart Truth campaign launched, unveiling the red dress as the national symbol for women and heart disease. The message? Breast cancer is not women’s biggest health worry because one out of 3 women will die of heart disease. Significant recent research also links menopause symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats with an increased risk for high blood pressure, a major risk factor in cardiovascular disease. Women are increasingly encouraged to get involved in their own good health through regular physical activity and healthier eating habits much earlier in life. Good advice for all of us, I believe. An easy reminder is to wear red for awareness.
