Wear red Friday to raise awareness of women’s heart disease

Don’t be surprised if you see a lot of women, including your fellow women truck drivers, wearing red Friday, Feb. 2.

It’s not a strange fashion coincidence, Friday is National Wear Red Day and is meant to raise awareness about heart disease in women.

While you may be fortunate not to have had heart disease yourself, it’s a good bet that someone in your family, a friend, a fellow driver at work or someone you have met while driving has. After all, 44 million women in the U.S. are affected by some sort of cardiovascular disease, according to the American Heart Association.

Here are a few more facts about women’s heart issues compiled by the AHA that may help convince you to wear red on Friday:

• Cardiovascular diseases and stroke cause one of every three women’s deaths each year, killing about one woman every 80 seconds
• 90 percent of women have one or more risk factors for heart disease or stroke
• Hispanic women are likely to develop heart disease 10 years earlier than Caucasian women
• Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death for African-American women, killing over 48,000 annually
• 80 percent of heart disease and stroke events may be prevented by lifestyle changes and education
• Fewer women than men survive their first heart attack
• The symptoms of heart attack can be different in women vs. men, and are often misunderstood – even by some physicians
• Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death for Hispanic women, killing nearly 21,000 annually.
• Of African-American women ages 20 and older, 48.3 percent have cardiovascular disease

Throughout February, She Drives will be posting Hear Health items detailing how to avoid heart attacks and other cardiovascular issues.