News Release

IOA Celebrates National Wear Red Day® this February with The Heart Truth®!

February 1, 2012

Although significant progress has been made in increasing awareness among women that heart disease is their #1 killer, most women fail to make the connection between heart disease risk factors and their personal risk of developing the disease. This disease is largely preventable, but kills more women than all forms of cancer combined. Join The Heart Truth campaign on Friday, February 3—National Wear Red Day—to help spread the message that "Heart Disease Doesn't Care What You Wear, It's the #1 Killer of Women.®"

The Heart Truth 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. The Red Dress® reminds women of the need to protect their heart health, and inspires them to take action. On National Wear Red Day, wear a Red Dress, red shirt, or red tie to show your support for women and heart disease awareness.

While heart disease risk begins to rise in middle age, heart disease develops over time and can start at a young age, even in the teen years. It's never too early, or too late, to take action to prevent and control the risk factors for heart disease. The Heart Truth is building awareness of women's heart disease and empowering women to reduce and prevent their risk. It is reaching women with important heart health messages in community settings through a diverse network of national and grassroots partner organizations.

The Heart Truth campaign is sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in partnership with The Office on Women's Health (OWH) and other groups committed to the health and well-being of women.

Community organizations across the country are joining The Heart Truth campaign and using its Red Dress symbol to raise awareness about women and heart disease.

For more information about women and heart disease, The Heart Truth® or National Wear Red Day®, please visit www.HeartTruth.gov.

To view President Barack Obama's proclamation of February 2012 as American Heart Month, please visit the Office of the Press Secretary.

For tools and resources to plan and observe National Wear Red Day®, please visit the campaign's activity registry.