THE SOUND OF IT IS OFTEN TAKEN FOR GRANTED, yet there is nothing that carries more resonance. Sometimes it calls attention to itself—when you have pushed yourself to your limit to cross the finish line of a 5K race or when your nerves are on edge during the scene of a scary movie—and then you feel it: the rhythmic beat of your healthy heart. This is a call to take heart—in your health. With heart disease being the number one killer of men and women in the United States, know that there are steps you can take to reduce the risk and that there is an organization that wants to make sure you know about them.
“Building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke” is the mission of The American Heart Association. It is the largest national voluntary health organization in the United States, promoting research and implementing strategies to fight heart disease. To learn about the Association’s initiatives, SA spoke with Kristie Kjeldgaard and Tere Estorino of The American Heart Association’s Greater Southeast Affiliate. Estorino explains, “Our mission is reducing death and disability from heart disease and stroke, as well as reducing what we call ‘modifiable risk factors.’ Some things, genetics for example, you can’t change. But smoking, physical activity, your diet—those are things you can change.”
Many conditions fall under the umbrella of cardiovascular disease: congenital heart defect, congestive heart failure, heart attack, high blood pressure and cholesterol, for example. Therefore, Estorino says, “Heart disease kills more people than all the cancers combined. Many people don’t realize that.” That is why, approximately 10 years ago, the Heart Association established a goal. “We sat down as an organization and said by the year 2010, we want to reduce death and disability from heart disease by 25 percent,” explains Kjeldgaard. Astonishingly, the organization met that goal ahead of schedule. “We actually achieved that by the middle of 2007.”
However, while national statistics have seen an overall decrease in the incidence of heart disease, new challenges continue to surface. Kjeldgaard explains, “We looked at the trend, and the men’s death rate from heart disease was going down, and it was like an inverse because the women’s rate was going up.” That is why the Association created Go Red For Women in 2004. What started out as an educational tool developed into a call for action, culminating with the Go Red For Women Luncheon, which takes place annually in every major U.S. city.
In Miami-Dade, the luncheon will take place on March 13, a half-day celebration featuring seminars and a surprise fashion component, creating a supportive atmosphere to encourage women to fight heart disease. This year’s luncheon chairmen are Tara Solomon and Nick D’Annunzio of TARA, Ink. “Nick and I both have people in our lives who have been affected by heart disease,” says Solomon. “We are strong believers in education and prevention as tools to keep our bodies conditioned and vital, and we want to do everything we can to help women—and the men who love them—be as heart-healthy as possible.”
A red dress fashion show during October’s Funkshion: Fashion Week in Miami helped raise awareness for the cause. Top designers such as Marc Jacobs and Diane von Furstenberg designed dresses specifically for this show in Go Red For Women’s signature color. The event was such a great success that plans are already in the works for this year’s Fashion Week. The dresses will be auctioned off to benefit the organization at the Miami-Dade Heart Ball, slated for May 30, 2009.
Through the Heart Association’s events, “Our goal, besides raising funds for the mission of what we do, is really building relationships with people where we work together throughout the year,” says Estorino. “Our events are a celebration of what we do.” By building those relationships, the organization can further its mission of educating Americans about the risk factors of heart disease and to fund research to fight it. During American Heart Awareness month this February, take the time to learn about the steps you can take towards a heart-healthy lifestyle. SA

Photographed by Funkshion: Fashion Week Miami Beach

For more information, visit www.americanheart.org