A Voice from the Eastern Door

Wear Red Day to Raise Awareness for Heart Disease

On February 1, the Let’s Get Healthy Program celebrated National Wear Red Day with a local event at the Saint Regis Mohawk Health Services. The goal of Wear Red Day is to raise awareness of women and heart disease. Heart Disease is often considered a man’s disease, but women get it and it is also the number one cause of death and disability in women in the United States. Diabetes plays into this as well, making women twice as likely to get Heart Disease, as those without.

Efforts to raise awareness taken by the Let’s Get Healthy Program included staff members giving red carnations to anyone wearing red. There was traditional red dress and traditional red ribbon shirt pins available. The traditional red dress and ribbon shirt pins are a take-off of the red dress pin that is promoted by the American Heart Association.

Registered nurses held blood sugar and blood pressure screenings and screened over 55 community members.

Giveaways included healthy shopping lists, heart shaped stress balls and jar openers, all designed to help educate women on the importance of reducing stress, eating healthy and managing diabetes for a healthy heart.

Heather Garrow, Health Promotion Specialist, had a heart healthy trivia game that was enjoyed by all and was promoting the use of resistance bands as a heart healthy physical activity that doesn’t cost a lot of money or take a lot of time.

In addition to the screenings and giveaways there was a table full of heart health information including literature on cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart-healthy eating.

For more information on women and heart disease, diabetes care, diabetes prevention, physical activity or nutrition services please contact The Let’s Get Healthy Program at 358-9667.

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 
Rendered 09/26/2024 04:21