National Wear Red Day is February 1st

Participate in National Wear Red Day. February 1st is National Wear Red Day, a day when Americans nationwide will take women’s health to heart by wearing red to show their support for women’s heart disease awareness. National Wear Red Day is an annual event held on the first Friday in February. On this day, women and men across the country wear red to unite in the national movement to give women a personal and urgent wake-up call about their risk of heart disease. The centerpiece of the campaign is the red dress—the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness. A simple red dress works as a visual red alert to get the message heard loud and clear: Heart disease doesn’t care what you wear—it’s the #1 killer of women.

It’s not hard to reduce your risk for heart disease. Start today with small, simple choices like these:

• Celebrate with a check-up. Let each birthday remind you that it’s time for your yearly check-up. Talk with your doctor about how you can reduce your risk for heart disease.
• Get up off the couch. Step, march or jog in place for at least 30 minutes most days of the week.
• Quit smoking in four steps. Can’t go cold turkey? Cut the number of cigarettes you smoke each day in half; then cut that number in half; cut it in half again; finally, cut down to zero!
• Drop a few pounds. You can lose one to two pounds per week by cutting 500 to 1,000 calories per day and increasing your physical activity.
• Become a salt detective. Check out the Nutrition Facts panel on packaged foods to see how much sodium (salt) they contain. For average Americas, limit your salt intake to 2,300 mg a day.

For more information, visit GoRedForWomen.org and choose to live a heart-healthy life.