Those of us involved in healthcare marketing are very aware that February is Heart Month, and that today is Go Red for Women Day. Every year we plan various heart-related campaigns for our heart services. But seriously – what’s the big deal about women and wearing red?

Please allow me to veer from our usual type of blog to offer an explanation. But first, a little backstory: Although I have worked with Greystone in different capacities over the years – currently serving as Director of Content Services – I have been a registered nurse for over 30 years. Before getting involved in writing and editing for health content and marketing, I spent many years as a critical-care nurse in the cardiac surgery ICU of a major academic medical center. Cardiac surgery is my first clinical love.

In the academic medical center setting, I was very fortunate to be associated with many clinicians involved in heart-related research and practice. One of those researchers and practitioners is Dr. Nanette Wenger. Dr. Wenger is known nationally and internationally for her work in cardiology, specifically for her focus on women and heart disease. Dr. Wenger was researching and lecturing on women’s heart disease long before the rest of the medical world caught on.

Thanks to Dr. Wenger’s efforts, along with those of many others, we’ve learned a lot about heart disease in general and how it affects women in particular. Women have been more involved in research as study participants, which has led to improved treatment guidelines and programs for women affected by heart disease.

So what’s different with women and heart disease? It wasn’t until early in this century that we officially realized that heart disease isn’t just specific to older men. Women get heart disease, as do men, and they die from it…in significant numbers. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, 25% of US women die of heart disease – in fact, it’s the number one cause of death in American women. However, women often have different symptoms and disease presentation than men, and for this reason, they may not be as readily diagnosed with heart disease as men. Also, heart disease tends to strike women later in life than men.

So, as you participate in #GoRedWearRed today, know that if your efforts cause even one woman to recognize her risks for heart disease and take steps to improve her health, we’ve all won. And if dozens and hundreds and thousands of women are impacted, we’ve all won big time.

What is your organization doing for Go Red for Women today?