February is Heart Health Awareness month and The Heart Truth, a national health disease awareness campaign for women, has launched its 2010 season for the Red Dress Crusade.
Heart disease is the single leading cause of death for women in America. Approximately twice as many women die in the United States of Coronary Heart Disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases than from all forms of cancer combined.
Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is the narrowing of small blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart. Symptoms may include discomfort and pain around the chest. The pain may radiate down the left arm, in the jaw or back, and cause nausea and/or difficulty breathing.
The cause of Coronary Heart Disease is a condition called atherosclerosis. This occurs when a buildup of plaque occurs in the arteries, which causes them to harden and narrow making the blood flood to the heart difficult. The blood vessels may become blocked causing the patient to feel extremely uncomfortable. This is a medical emergency.
There are several tests used to diagnose Coronary Heart Disease. Some of these tests include the Electrocardiogram (EKG), a History and Physical Examination, Cardio Echo, Exercise Stress Test, and a Coronary Angiography.
Patients of CHD may be asked to take one or more medicines to treat blood pressure, diabetes, or high cholesterol levels. Patients should always follow their doctor’s orders to help prevent CHD from getting worse.
Everything in your body is connected to your center, which is the heart, so it is important to nurture your heart by first addressing your lifestyle. If you smoke, stop. Smoking irritates the lungs, diminishes oxygen uptake, incites inflammation and exacerbates atherosclerosis.
I cannot stress enough the importance of eating large amounts of fruits and vegetables daily. Remember to keep your dish colorful, filled with red, green, yellow, orange, and purple foods. Decrease the amount of white foods in your diet. You should exercise regularly, a minimum of 30 minutes a day is the norm. Supplement your meals with a good grade of vitamins (see my article “The Importance of Vitamins”). Surround yourself with positive people who are headed in your direction or the direction you would like to go, and hold yourself accountable for improving your lifestyle. Remember that if you don’t change your lifestyle, it will change you.
Now more about The Heart Truth Red Dress Campaign. The National Wear Red Day took place on Friday, February 5, 2010. The Red Dress, the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness, was created by The Heart Truth in 2002 to deliver an urgent wakeup call to American women across the nation.
On February 11, 2010, The Heart Truth brought the Red Dress to life once again on the runway at New York Fashion Week with the debut of the Red Dress Collection 2010. This spectacular event reminds women of the need to protect their heart’s health and to take action. For the second year in a row, a selection of the designer dresses seen on the runway will be auctioned online in February through a partnership with Clothes Off Our Back. To bid on these dresses, contact www.clothesoffourback.org.
Most of the information contained in this article was taken from the WomentoWomen and The Heart Truth websites.
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