AdventHealth Manchester Goes Red for Women's Heart Month

February 06, 2023 — Team members, volunteers, providers, and friends at AdventHealth Manchester donned their red apparel this past Friday during the National Wear Red Day to raise awareness about heart disease in women.

The American Heart Association created and introduced the Red Dress as the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness in 2002, to deliver an urgent wake-up call to American women. National Wear Red Day is a day when Americans nationwide wear red to show their support for women's heart disease awareness. This idea has since evolved into simply wearing the color red on this day to remind women of the need to protect their heart health and inspire them to take action.

Heart disease is no longer considered a "man's disease." Women can suffer the same devastating effects of heart disease as men but may experience different signs and symptoms of a heart attack than the signs and symptoms a man may experience. Diagnosis and treatment can also be very different between genders. It is important for women to know how heart disease can affect their health and how the warning signs of a heart attack can be different from a man's.

During a heart attack, women can experience uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain in the center of the chest. It lasts more than a few minutes or goes away and comes back. There might be pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw, or stomach. Women might have shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort, or break out in a cold sweat, have nausea, jaw pain, or lightheadedness. As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort.

If you have any of these signs, don’t wait more than five minutes before calling for help. Call 911 and get to a hospital right away. Far too many women die because they fail to recognize the symptoms, don’t take them seriously, or don’t get help fast enough.

To learn more about how to care for your heart health and prevention of heart disease, visit: www.AdventHealthManchester.com