St. Joseph's Hospital in Buckhannon will celebrate National Wear Red Day on Friday to help build awareness of heart disease in women.
Staff members will wear red in support of the day and gather for a group photograph at 9 a.m.
Awareness that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women has nearly doubled in the last 12 years. However, most women fail to make the connection between heart disease risk factors and their personal risk of developing the disease. While 1 in 30 American women die of breast cancer, about 1 in 3 die from cardiovascular disease. It kills approximately 450,000 women each year, about one every minute.
The staff at St. Joseph's Hospital, along with cardiologist Dr. Yaser Kalash, hope to bring awareness to this disease and encourage women to take steps to prevent it. By making choices such as exercising, quitting smoking and eating healthier, 80 percent of cardiac events in women may be prevented.
The national campaign is supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the American Heart Association.
