Go Red This February to Support Women's Heart Health

The American Heart Association's National Go Red for Women campaign is in full swing this February, urging everyone to wear red to bring awareness to American Heart Month. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), cardiovascular disease claims more women's lives than all forms of cancer combined. The American Heart Association (AHA) is asking everyone rally behind their mothers, sisters, aunts, and daughters this February.

"Between home and work, women are usually holding up a lot of different things at once, and that doesn't leave much time or energy for self-care," says Michelle A. Albert, M.D,, M.P.H. AHA Volunteer President and Professor of Medicine at University of California-San Francisco School of Medicine. "It's very important that women carve out that time for their own physical and mental health and that they get support from their loved ones and communities to do so."

In addition to wearing red this February, here are a few more ideas for taking action to support the AHA's Go Red for Women campaign.

Because women are statistically less likely to receive lifesaving CPR than men are, the AHA encourages every household to take the Be the Beat Challenge, in which at least one member of the family learn CPR. If performed immediately, CPR can double or triple a cardiac arrest victim's chance of survival. Find out more at http://www.heart.org.

Throughout American Heart Month, Minute Clinics nationwide are offering no-cost heart health screenings. For a limited time this month, download a free heart health screening voucher at GoRedforWomen.org/HeartHealth and present it at your local Minute Clinic location, which is a service of CVS Health. Find a Minute Clinic near you by going to http://www.MinuteClinic.com.

Historically, clinical studies haven't included enough women, particularly women of color. Research Goes Red is a collaboration between the AHA and Verily to raise awareness of the importance of women's heart health and to recruit women as research participants in order to improve health outcomes. Find out more at http://www.projectbaseline.com/gored.

Of course, making a donation supports the AHA's lifesaving work in promoting heart health awareness, disease prevention, and research. Find out how to donate and more about all these topics at http://www.heart.org/en/affiliates/michigan/detroit.