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With some questionable health advice being posted by your friends on Facebook, politicians arguing about the state of the American healthcare system and a new medical study being summarized in just a sentence or two on TV---that seems to contradict the study you heard summarized yesterday---it can be overwhelming to navigate the ever-changing landscape of health news.

Go Red for Women Day

flickr user Veterans Health (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/)

You might see a lot of people wearing red tomorrow, and they aren’t just getting a jump on Valentine’s Day.

Because heart disease was considered “a man’s disease” but killing over half a million American women a year,  in 2004 the American Heart Association created Go Red For Women. The goal is to dispel the myths and raise awareness of heart disease & stroke as the number one killer of women. Go Red also wants  action to save more lives and was designed to empower women to take charge of their heart health.

So beyond wearing a cute crimson sweater tomorrow, what does going red look like?
• Following an exercise routine
• Eating a healthier diet
• Visiting your doctor for important tests and
• Influencing others by talking about heart health.

Women, be aware that a heart attack doesn’t often look like the chest clutching pain you see on TV. Females’ symptoms are typically different and more subtle than males’. The Cleveland Clinic reports that the top three are: unusual fatigue, sweating or shortness of breath and neck or jaw pain. Visit your doctor if you notice any of these warning signs. If they are accompanied by rapid or irregular heart beats and pain in other areas of the body, get to the Emergency Room.

Resources:
https://www.goredforwomen.org/
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/2016/03/women-dont-ignore-3-subtle-heart-attack-symptoms/
 

Dr. Brooke Hildebrand Clubbs is an assistant professor in the Department of Leadership, Middle & Secondary Education. She writes for special publications of The Southeast Missourian and is a certified Community Health Worker.
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