Cedars-Sinai Medical Center will hold its 12th annual Linda Joy Pollin Womens Heart Health Day Friday, part of a nationwide effort to raise awareness about heart disease being the leading killer of women.
The event coincides with the 15th annual National Wear Red Day, with hundreds of Cedars-Sinai employees and guests dressing in red to demonstrate support for heightened awareness of heart disease risk factors and increased public education about gender differences in heart disease.
The event will begin with classes on fitness, meditation and Reiki, a Japanese relaxation technique that promotes stress reduction and well being. A panel discussion about new medical discoveries in women’s health will follow.
The American Heart Association and National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute have been holding National Wear Red Day annually on the first Friday in February since 2003 in an attempt to raise awareness about heart disease being the leading killer of women and about women’s heart health.
Although heart disease has killed more U.S. women than men since 1984, most medical research has been focused exclusively on men and women are largely unaware that they are at risk, according to Sally Stewart of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
A survey by the American Heart Association found that only one in five American women believes that heart disease is the greatest threat to their health.
Research has shown that men and women often experience different forms of heart disease. Men who experience heart attacks often feel a tingling in their left arm and chest pain while women’s symptoms may include extreme fatigue, nausea and back pain, Stewart said.
—City News Service