Show Your RED & Know Your 8!

By Sarah Fedele, American Heart Association

Maybe it’s those hot red heels, your red winter gloves, those favorite red workout pants, that spicy little RED dress or your favorite red suit – either way, it’s time to dust them off for National Wear Red Day!

Show Your RED

All the Go Red fun kicks off at the Triad Go Red for Women Luncheon on Friday, February 3 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at High Point Country Club. So, grab your best gal pals, break out your best RED, and go to TriadGoRed.heart.org. to get your tickets today!

This event will include:

• A silent Purse-onalities Auction
• Heart-healthy lunch
• A local stroke survivor who will share her personal story
• Keynote speaker, Valda Boyd Ford, who will get everyone laughing, while focusing on their health

But “Going Red” is not about showing your red on National Wear Red Day. It’s not just about focusing on your health during February for American Heart Month. Go Red for Women is about protecting your heart and the hearts of your mothers, sisters, daughters, co-workers, and friends all throughout the year.

What is Go Red for Women®?

Go Red for Women® is an American Heart Association year-round movement focused on awareness, prevention education, risk factor reduction, healthy behavioral changes, and women’s heart health research. Together, we are flipping the script to ensure ALL women have the opportunity to live a long and healthy life. Go Red for Women is nationally sponsored by CVS Health, and locally sponsored by Life is Why Sponsor, Novant Health, and Platform Sponsor, Go-Forth Pest Control.

“In a matter of seven years, I lost my father and several grandparents, prematurely, due to heart conditions. This makes me personally passionate about educating our community about the power we have to live longer, healthier lives, with preventative lifestyle choices. My goal is that women in our community one day know their blood pressure numbers as confidently as they may know their weight,” said Leah Hazelwood, Vice President of Go-Forth Pest Control and Chair of the 2023 Triad Go Red for Women Initiative.

This year’s focus is on the importance of women making their health and wellness a priority, with an emphasis on awareness, education, prevention, and management of high blood pressure among women in the Triad. High blood pressure, or hypertension, is the second leading cause of preventable heart disease and stroke death, second only to smoking, and more than half of all deaths from high blood pressure are in women.

Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 killer of women in the United States, claiming more women’s lives each year than all forms of cancer combined. The good news is that heart disease and stroke-related events can be largely preventable with education and lifestyle changes, such as knowing your vital health numbers, moving more, eating smarter and managing blood pressure.

But how do you know what to do? How do you know where to start?

Life’s Essential 8 can help. These are the key measures for improving and maintaining cardiovascular health, as defined by the American Heart Association. Better cardiovascular health helps lower the risk for heart disease, stroke, and other major health problems.

Life’s Essential 8 focuses on health behaviors and health factors, including:

4 Health Behaviors:

• Eating better
• Being more active
• Quitting tobacco
• Getting healthy sleep

4 Health Factors:

• Managing weight
• Controlling cholesterol
• Managing blood sugar
• Plus, managing blood pressure

How do you stand on your 8? To learn more about blood pressure and how you can manage or reduce your personal risk factors for heart disease and stroke, visit heart.org/lifes8.

For additional information Triad Go Red, please click here. Follow American Heart Association North Carolina on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Sponsored by American Heart Association.