Could your business survive without women? Think about it. What would you do if your female customers started disappearing? What if your female employees were no longer there to count on?
The reality is that those aren’t really hypothetical questions. Women are dying at an alarming rate from heart disease every year. Heart disease is still the No. 1 health threat for women age 20 and over, killing approximately one woman every minute in the United States. Not only that, but more women die of cardiovascular disease than the next four causes of death combined, including all forms of cancer.
There is something that companies, like yours, can do to help. Your office can “Go Red” in support of heart health this February during American Heart Month to bring awareness to the factors that contribute to heart disease. The good news is that it can be prevented. With the right information, education and care, heart disease in women can be treated, prevented and even ended.
Such an aggressive disease requires an equally aggressive response. That’s why the American Heart Association (AHA) has spent more than $3.3 billion on research, which has increased general knowledge and understanding about heart disease and stroke — making AHA the largest funder of heart disease research, second only to the U.S. government.
Over 10 years ago, the AHA launched “Go Red for Women,” a campaign to increase awareness of heart disease and to inspire women to take charge of their heart health. This grassroots campaign has since grown into a vibrant national movement as more women, men, healthcare professionals and philanthropists embrace the cause of women’s awareness of heart disease. In the last decade, more than 627,000 women have been saved from heart disease and 330 fewer are dying each day. So, the message is resonating.
The women who have embraced the Go Red message these past 10 years have made heart-healthy choices, which include:
• Nearly 90 percent making at least one healthy change in their daily lives;
• More than one-third have lost weight;
• More than 50 percent have increased the amount they exercise;
• And six out of 10 have made healthy changes to their diets.
“The American Heart Association is on the frontlines in the battle in the fight against heart disease,” says Dr. James Perrien, East Jefferson General Hospital cardiovascular specialist. “It is with their efforts we can see developments in research and treatment. We want to support them in bringing awareness to women in our community so they can seek preventive care.”
Need more incentive for your company to participate?
Go Red for Women encourages women to uncover the truth about heart disease and make ending it a reality. Unless women are aware of their greatest health risk, they are unable to act. Eighty percent of heart disease is preventable through diet, exercise and well-woman screenings.
Participate in National Wear Red Day
National Wear Red Day — February 26, 2016 — is the American Heart Association’s special day to bring attention to heart disease. We encourage everyone to wear red, raise awareness, know their cardiovascular risk factors, and take action to live longer, healthier lives.
With your help and participation in Wear Red Day, we can end the No. 1 killer of our mothers, sisters, daughters and friends. Join other companies participating citywide in support of the Go Red for Women movement by going red on National Wear Red Day.
If you are new to participating in Go Red, here is a list of activities your company can do this Heart Month:
• Ask employees to show their support by wearing something red on National Wear Red Day.
• Distribute heart-healthy tips in employee paychecks during the month of February.
• Give away healthy red food such as apples to your employees, or host a heart-healthy open house, providing heart-healthy snacks and healthy lifestyle tips for employees.
• Offer weekly drawings in February for American Heart Association cookbooks available on ShopHeart.org.
• Feature an AHA heart disease awareness article in your employee newsletter, available on GoRedforWomen.org.
• Have a Go Red page on your company’s employee web site featuring heart-healthy tips and recipes.
• Distribute red flowers to employees to honor friends and loved ones with heart disease.
Wearing red isn’t just for people; it’s for buildings, bridges, parks and landmarks, too. This year, you can help New Orleans Go Red in a big way by thinking on a grand scale. Light the exterior of your building red on Wear Red Day and amplify the message in the community.
Join the Fight — Let’s Unite!
Please join us in the fight against heart disease. The New Orleans American Heart Association will host the annual Go Red for Women luncheon on Thursday, February 25, 2016, at the New Orleans Marriott, and we invite you to purchase individual tickets, or a table, and attend. The luncheon will be a rally for awareness and prevention. If heart disease has already touched you or someone you love, unite with us in creating awareness by being a part of the Go Red for Women movement in New Orleans.
For more information on the event and tickets, visit nolagored.heart.org. You may also visit the New Orleans American Heart Association on Facebook, facebook.com/AHANewOrleans, as well as follow the conversation on Twitter and Instagram, #nolagored.
Go Red for Women is nationally sponsored by Macy’s and locally sponsored by East Jefferson General Hospital, Entergy Corp., Peoples Health, Paris Parker, LAMMICO, Cardio DX, First NBC, Harrah’s New Orleans, HUB International, Postlethwaite & Netterville, Touro Infirmary and Crescent City Physicians, United Healthcare, Cox Communications, WWL-TV, Entercom Radio, The New Orleans Advocate, St. Charles Avenue magazine, and New Orleans Magazine.
Suzanne Whitaker currently serves as the 2016 chair for the New Orleans Go Red for Women campaign, and is also a member of the American Heart Association’s Go Red Executive Leadership Team and Circle of Red.
