I posted this note on SP Cafe, but it's already buried to page 2 with 1 reply, so I thought I'd just post in this forum as well so that you can share it with those important women in your lives.
Even though February is coming to an end, it's important that we continue to support and keep in mind the importance of the Go Red for Women movement. Here are some statistics from the AHA with respect to women and heart disease.
* 1 in 5 females in the U.S.have some form of heart disease.
* A woman dies from heart disease every 34 seconds.
* African-American and Mexican-American women have higher heart disease and stroke risk factors than white women of comparable socioeconomic status.
* The prevalence of high blood pressure in minority women in the U.S. is among the highest in the world.
* Coronary heart disease rate in women after menopause are 2-3 times those of women the same age before menopause.
*Heart disease claims more women's lives than the next 8 causes of death combined to include breast cancer.
* Most women begin to develop heart disease at a very young age.
* Over 35% of American women are overweight
* Over 25% of American women smoke.
As men, I feel that we share an important role in women's health care. We can do our part by staying informed on women's health issues,and by supporting the women in our lives as they make healthy lifestyle changes and decisions. Men can also show support by making good healthy choices themselves and living a healthier lifestyle. Maybe we can think of it as --"supporting by example".
The above statistics show that the Go Red for Women campaign is an important cause and should encourage all of us to keep in mind matters of women's health with respect to cardiac disease throughout the entire year.
