In celebration of National Wear Red Day, The SM Store in partnership with St. Luke’s Medical Center and SM Foundation recently held a campaign of building awareness about heart disease through #GoRedForWomen. Participants wore red as heart health screenings and consultations were held at selected SM Stores and booklets were distributed.
There is, of course, much to be concerned about heart health. National Wear Red Day began in 2003 when the American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute took action against a disease that was claiming the lives of nearly 500,000 American women each year – a disease women weren’t paying attention to.
The hard facts: heart diseases are the number one cause of death for men and women, and every 34 seconds someone may experience a heart attack. Moreover, 40 percent of heart attacks are fatal.
The booklet shares tips for a healthy heart: stop smoking, eat healthy, exercise with friends. It is also good to find time to relax and have regular check-ups.
It also lists the symptoms of a heart attack. These include sudden, increasing chest pain and pressure, as well as pain spreading from your jaw, throat, arm, back, or belly. Sweating, especially cold sweat, nausea and vomiting, and dizziness are also symptoms of a heart attack. Then there is also a shortness of breath, feelings of indigestion and heartburn, rapid or irregular heartbeats, and extreme fatigue and weakness.
While chest pain is the most common symptoms, some women have reported no chest pains at all. That is why it is important to pay attention, and don’t ignore your symptoms. Most of all, don’t delay, dial 911 in case of emergency.