“Go Red for Women” - Heart Disease Awareness Campaign now on
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the term used for heart, stroke and blood vessel diseases. It is the leading cause of death in Australia, accounting for about 35% of all deaths in Australia every year. It seems that most Australian women are not aware that heart disease is the number 1 killer of other women like themselves. This is of great concern to the Heart Foundation, which in response is launching its international “Go Red for Women” campaign.
Because of the very high profile and intensive campaigning by cancer charities over the years, most women mistakenly believe that breast cancer is the leading cause of death among Australian women when in reality it is heart disease – which kills four times as many women as breast cancer each year.
The six-week ‘Go Red for Women’ campaign will unite Australians in the fight against heart disease – raising awareness of the risk to women, in particular, and assisting them to make healthier lifestyle choices for themselves and their families.
In general 95% of women surveyed knew there was a link between ‘lifestyle’ and heart disease, but most did not know that included keeping track of their blood pressure, cholesterol levels and diabetes risk, not smoking, drinking less alcohol, exercising, and eating lots of fruits and vegetables.
There are often no symptoms of heart disease so the Heart Foundation urges women to talk to their health professional about assessing their heart disease risk.
The Heart Foundation knows dealing with heart disease or stroke is an issue that affects the daily lives of many Australians. Apart from seeing a doctor, people are often unsure where else to turn for information. That’s why the Heart Foundation developed the Health Information Service. It was introduced to give people with cardiovascular disease, those with identified risk factors, and those people who simply want to develop healthier lifestyles, access to vital information about heart heath, nutrition and healthy eating, blood pressure and cholesterol, smoking cessation, physical activity and heart surgery.
Heart disease is largely preventable so contact the Heart Foundation to discover the changes you can make now to improve your heart health. Call 1300 36 27 87 (open business hours across Australia for the cost of a local call). For more information about the ‘Go Red for Women’ campaign please go to www.goredforwomen.org.au
