Many people on the AWC campus took part in the annual Wear Red for Women's Health" campaign yesterday. According to the American Heart Association (AHA) cardiovascular disease claimed the lives of nearly 500,000 American women each year, but many dismiss it as something that happens to old men. To raise awareness of heart disease as the number one killer of women, the American Heart Association created Go Red For Women designed to empower women to take charge of their heart health.
Research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) indicates that women often experience different physical symptoms of heart failure than men and don't realize they are having life threatening symptoms. The first symptoms can begin in as much as a month before any serious symptoms occur.
The women's major symptoms prior to their heart attack included:
- Unusual fatigue - 70%
- Sleep disturbance - 48%
- Shortness of breath - 42%
- Indigestion - 39%
- Anxiety - 35%
Major symptoms during the heart attack include:
- Shortness of breath - 58%
- Weakness - 55%
- Unusual fatigue - 43%
- Cold sweat - 39%
- Dizziness - 39%
Jean McSweeney, PhD, RN, and Principal Investigator of the study at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, said, "Symptoms such as indigestion, sleep disturbances, or weakness in the arms, which many of us experience on a daily basis, were recognized by many women in the study as warning signals for AMI." These symptoms, however, are very hard to read because of the obvious variable factors for other problems.
Donations to the American Heart Association's Go Red For Women fund research into the causes, diagnosis and treatment of heart disease.
A big thank you to all who participated in helping to spread the awareness of this life saving event.
Wearing red for women's health.
