PEORIA - February is American Heart Month, and OSF HealthCare is proud to join forces with The American Heart Association and its Go Red for Women movement. Go Red for Women is designed to spread awareness about heart disease and stroke in women through outreach and education.
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“There is a huge misconception that heart disease is a men’s problem, and it’s totally opposite actually,” said Dr. Sudhir Mungee, OSF HealthCare Cardiovascular Institute Interventional Cardiologist. “Women and heart disease is a huge public health problem, and actually compared to all cancers combined – heart disease is more prevalent in women.”
To help spread awareness, Friday, February 7 is National Wear Red Day. People are encouraged to wear red, decorate their homes and offices in red, and to encourage others to make a change to improve their heart health.
OSF HealthCare is working to bring attention to heart health awareness during the entire month of February. To find an event near you, visit osfhealthcare.org and click on Classes & Events.
More women die of heart disease and stroke than men. In fact, it remains the number one killer of women, taking one in three lives each year.
The good news is, with education and action, 80 percent of cardiac and stroke events may be prevented. So the Go Red for Women movement also advocates for more research on women’s heart health, for this very reason.
“I think the first key towards prevention is education. The second thing is owning your risks,” advised Dr. Mungee. “Knowing what your risks are and what can be modified and what cannot be modified. I mean, aging and family history cannot be changed, so that’s okay. But stopping smoking and making sure you walk every day or lose weight, eat healthy, those are measures that you can take.”
