SVHC Celebrates National Wear Red Day

For Immediate Release
Contact: Erica Cummings
(802) 447-5019
26-Jan-2010

 

BENNINGTON -- On Friday, Feb. 5, Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) will participate in The Heart Truth nationwide campaign, Wear Red Day. National Wear Red Day is a day when Americans wear red to show their support for fighting women's heart disease. SVHC is encouraging men, women, and children in the community to wear red on Feb. 5, to show awareness of this deadly condition.

Dr. Scott Rogge, Dr. Steve Anisman, and the staff at Bennington Cardiology remind everyone to wear red Feb. 5 in honor of women affected by heart disease.

Heart Disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States. In 2006, 315,930 women died from it. Although heart disease is sometimes thought of as a man’s disease, around the same number of American women and men die each year from this condition. Most women fail to make the connection between the risk factors and their own personal risk of developing heart disease. Risk factors include diabetes, cigarette smoking, obesity, poor diet, alcohol use, and physical inactivity.

Although heart disease risk begins to rise in middle age, symptoms develop over time and can start at a young age, even in the teen years. It's never too early, or too late, to take action to prevent and control your personal risk factors.

The Wear Red campaign was created to build awareness of women's heart disease and to empower women to reduce and prevent their personal risk. The goal is to reach women with heart health messages, so they learn to recognize the signs and symptoms of heart disease.

To find out more about women and heart disease, visit The Heart Truth web pages or call the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Health Information Center at 301-592-8573.

SVHC is a community-based, not-for-profit health system that includes Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, a 99-bed community hospital; the Centers for Living & Rehabilitation; VNA & Hospice of SVHC; and medical practices in Bennington, Manchester, and Wilmington, Vermont. SVHC exists solely for the benefit of its community. SVHC has a vision to make the communities it serves the healthiest in the nation.

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