HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Wear Red Day is part of the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women movement. AHA asks people to wear red in order to focus the nation's attention on heart disease, which happens to be the number one killer of women in America.
"February is Heart Month so we try to incorporate an additional day for women to actually stand out a little bit. We're trying to raise awareness and funds so that we can increase research across the board for women's heart disease," said Dr. Sravya Chirumamilla, Cardiologist at Huntsville Hospitals Heart Center.
Raising awareness for all types of heart disease is important, but when it comes to heart disease in women, there is still a lot more research to be done.
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"A lot of research has been focused on middle-aged men, we don't have a lot of diversity in terms of age, we don't have a lot of diversity in races or especially in gender. Studies that have 30% participation with women are hailed as being really well represented when we're 50% [of the population] we should meet that 50% metric," said Chirumamilla.
Speaking of research, in order to carry it out, there must be funds. One way to help raise funds is by buying a Red Dress pin.
"If you can see the little pin that I've got on if you go to the American Heart Association Go Red for Women page, you can buy some pins for yourself and your gal pals, and it makes a good Galentine's gift. It goes towards research to encourage people to be in studies and to allow for payment for that," said Chirumamilla.
Not everyone will experience heart disease in their lifetime, but there are some risk factors that can be spotted and if taken under control, can help prevent people from falling victim to heart disease.
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"High blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, diet and lack of exercise, sleep apnea, smoking especially, and sometimes alcohol abuse too," said Chirumamilla.
There are some pretty simple things you can do to help prevent heart disease: such as staying active, swapping out butter for olive oil, trying to limit the amount of red meat you eat and working more fruits and vegetables into your diet.
Huntsville Hospital's Heart Center recently made an Instagram and will have a challenge running through Galentine's day, Saturday, February 13.
The challenge asks women to post a black and white photo of themselves and tag three other women that they want to encourage to take care of their heart health. The challenge hashtag is #heartcenterchallenge.
This challenge is more than just a post, there is also a chance to win a prize! The prize will be from Parkway Place Mall and has yet to be announced but Chirumamilla said that it's a "pretty big giveaway."