photo by steed media service

According to research conducted by the American Heart Association, every 34 seconds, someone in the U.S. will die of heart disease, making it the leading cause of death in the country. Those numbers are even more startling for women, who have historically been excluded from cardiac studies. Women are six times more likely to die from heart disease than breast cancer.

“We see young women, teenagers, who are dealing with this,” explains Shaun Wiley, communications director for the American Heart Association “We do work with a lot of women who are in high schools who have had pacemakers, who were born with a congenital defect and who’ve had open heart surgery from the time they were infants. This is something that all women need to pay attention to.”

Wiley makes it her mission to raise awareness about this preventable disease by “going red.” “ ‘Go Red for Women’ is the American Heart Association’s campaign to raise awareness among women about heart disease being the number one killer of women,” says Wiley. “We really encourage women to know their numbers — know their cholesterol, know their blood pressure — and spread the word.” The American Heart Association supports the idea of having others share their thoughts, feelings and personal stories on the subject with others.

“It’s very powerful to hear from other women about heart disease and share their stories and really lift the veil on the impact that this is having on women,” explains Wiley. “Get out there and encourage your girlfriends to know their numbers, get healthy and love their hearts.” -adam jones

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