National Wear Red Day Raises Awareness About Heart Disease in Women 

02 Feb National Wear Red Day Raises Awareness About Heart Disease in Women 

By Marsha Mitchell, Director of Communications

The first Friday in February is always National Wear Red Day, an annual campaign to raise awareness about heart disease in women. Heart disease is the primary cause of death for women in the U.S., causing one in three deaths yearly. This national campaign urges women to learn about their risk for heart disease and to take steps to lower their risk. 

Started in 2004 by the American Heart Association (AHA), National Wear Red Day comes out of the AHA’s “Go Red for Women” Campaign. The hope is to lower heart disease and stroke in millions of American women. So this Friday, put on your reddest red — whether it be lipstick, a pair of pants, or your favorite hat — wearing this stunning color signals our intention and effort to stop cardiovascular disease in women in its tracks.

What increases a woman’s chances of heart disease?

• Smoking
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Family history
• Diabetes
• Stress
• Menopause

Women of Color & Heart Disease

• Black women have a 50% higher risk of heart failure than white women. 
• According to AHA, among Latinx women: 29.9% have high blood pressure.
• Among Black women ages 20 and older, nearly 59% have cardiovascular disease. 
• 76.3% of Latinas are overweight or obese, compared to 68.5% of all adults in the U.S.
• Only 39% of Black women are aware that chest pain can be a sign of a heart attack;
• 20.3% of Hispanic girls are physically inactive.
• Only 33% recognize that pain spreading to the shoulder, neck, or arms is another potential heart attack sign.
• 11.8% of Latinx women have physician-diagnosed diabetes; 5% have diabetes but are not aware of it; 26% have pre-diabetes.

What Can Be Done About Heart Disease? 

The fact is that most cardiovascular diseases can be prevented with education, exercise, and healthy lifestyle changes. But you don’t know what you don’t know. So the AHA encourages us all to talk to our healthcare providers to learn about our numbers—blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and BMI (Body Mass Index). Our heart health and lives depend on getting annual physicals and knowing these numbers.

Take Action:

1. Working remotely? Download these Wear Red Day backgrounds for virtual meetings on February 3, 2023.
2. Share Wear Red Day on your social media to spread the word!
3. Get a free heart health screening while supplies last, beginning February 1, 2023.

This screening includes tests and checks for:

• Cholesterol
• Blood pressure
• Blood glucose (or A1c for diabetes)
• Body mass index (BMI)

As part of CVS Health’s continued commitment to making women’s and heart health care more accessible, equitable, and personalized, MinuteClinic offers year-round heart health screenings at all MinuteClinic locations nationwide. During American Heart Month, you can download a voucher online and present it at MinuteClinic locations to get your screening and learn your numbers at no cost. The coupons are not good at CVS stores. 

To receive your free screening:

1. Download the PDF voucher
2. Schedule a Comprehensive Health Screening (Heart Health Screening)