Today is the second day of Women's Heart Week, which is a week solely dedicated to raising awareness about women's heart health issues. I personally, no matter how many times I learn this fact, never say the right answer when asked "What is the number one killer of women?" We may think of breast cancer, or lung disease, but the actual answer is heart disease.
There are a number of ways to raise awareness this week. The Illinois Department of Public Health, for example, is asking people to wear red on Friday (
Chicago Tribune). This is an extension of what the American Heart Association has started, a year-long
"Go Red for Women" campaign that draws attention to the issue in many different ways - head over to their site for a look. The goal of the movement according to the site is a "25% reduction in coronary heart disease and stroke risk by the year 2010" and the ending of the misconception that heart disease is a "men's disease," a perception all the more unfortunate because women actually make up more of heart disease deaths than men at 53%.
A big part of maintaining or improving your heart health is watching your diet, quitting smoking, and managing your risk factors. Home Health Testing helps you do this by offering two types of
home cholesterol test. Cholesterol is a huge risk factor for heart disease. Doing cholesterol testing at home is designed to make tracking your cholesterol levels easy. Your excuses not to (don't want to make a doctor's appointment, can't take time off work, too expensive) don't really stand up to scrutiny when home testing is available. You can track either your total cholesterol or choose a test that gives you a full lipid panel reading (total cholesterol, HDL, LDL & triglycerides).
This is the week to raise awareness and encourage people to take their heart health seriously! For more information check out the
Women's Heart Foundation or the Women's Heart Foundation's
cholesterol page.
Below, a video review of last year's Go Red for Women efforts: