On Friday We Wear Red: Raising Awareness for Heart Disease

February 6^th probably doesn’t come  across your mind as a significant day. It’s Friday, so you’ll probably be getting out of class or work, and ready to dedicate a weekend of some intense reflection (we sure will be) on Katy Perry’s half-time show.

In all seriousness, there is a reason why this Friday is important. Since 2003, the American Heart Association has been celebrating National Wear Red Day every first Friday of February in an effort to raise awareness about heart disease among women. To #GoRed is a reminder to people that heart disease and strokes don’t just affect men. They’re affecting just as many women every day, or as their website says, “Heart disease and stroke kill 1 in 3 women, yet it’s 80% preventable.”

With such a large number of women possibly crossing paths with heart disease, the campaign to “wear red” has only become more important to the public in recent years.

For the 12^th anniversary of National Wear Red Day, it won’t only be women wearing red. Over in New Jersey, the governor’s estate will be glowing red in a show of support for the movement, as will over a hundred other public buildings. The First Lady of the Garden State, Mary Pat Christie, went on to say:

“By ‘going red’ we’re helping women protect their heart health, take action to reduce the risks of cardiovascular disease, and hopefully, save lives of those near and dear to us.”

And that ultimately is what wearing red this Friday is about. The sooner people are made aware of just how important keeping good health is, the sooner “heart disease and stroke kill 1 in 3 women” will stop being an often repeated fact. So before you leave the place you call home for a night out this Friday, make sure you got some red on you. You’ll be making much more than just a fashion statement.

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By David Grom / Header Image: By The Heart Truth (End of Show, Uploaded by Gohe007) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons