Heart of the matter: hospital works to slow cause of 30 percent of Alabama deaths

It is hard to believe but heart disease is the number one killer of women.

According to the American Heart Association, despite this fact only 17 percent of women consider heart disease or stroke to be the greatest health problem facing Americans today.

Sadly, Alabama is ranked 2nd in the nation for the number of deaths related to cardiovascular disease. The state also ranks #1 in nation for highest rates of stroke related deaths.

Alabama loses more than 12,600 people to heart disease each year and another 3,400 to stroke. That’s 30 percent of all deaths in the state. That’s 1 death every 80 seconds.

Nationwide Cardiovascular diseases and stroke cause 1 in 3 women’s deaths each year, that’s more than all cancers combined.

St. Vincent’s Health System, which is a part of Ascension, has partnered with the American Heart Association on the “Go Red For Women” campaign to help educate women on the disease and its symptoms, which are often difficult to detect. Throughout the month of February, St. Vincent’s will be sharing heart healthy information with the community to encourage early detection of heart disease.

In fact, babies at St. Vincent’s Birmingham and St. Vincent’s East are wearing red hats as part of the “Go Red for Women” campaign to build awareness of heart disease. Numerous hats are knitted by St. Vincent’s volunteers from across Alabama each year.

“St. Vincent’s wants to educate as many women as possible about heart disease, because the more they know about the disease, the better chance they have of beating it,” said Neeysa Biddle, Senior Vice President, Ascension Healthcare; President/CEO of St. Vincent’s Health System (STVHS). “We have a longstanding reputation as a leader in cardiovascular services. By combining our expertise and experience with the American Heart Association’s ‘Go Red for Women’ efforts, we’re able to bring a better understanding of the disease to the community and ultimately, save lives.”

The American Heart Association has said that the goal of this effort is to encourage awareness of the issue of women and heart disease, in an effort to save more lives.
Since the Go Red campaign was founded 15 years ago, 293 fewer women are dying each day of heart disease.

80% of heart disease is preventable through lifestyle change like diet, exercise, high cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar management, weight loss and not smoking.

During Heart Health Month talk with your doctor about developing a health plan. Losing weight, increasing exercise, making diet changes and getting cholesterol levels checked can make a tremendous impact on strengthening your heart.

Use hashtag #BhamGoRed and tag @HeartAlabama on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram as you wear red this month and help save lives in Alabama- one heart at a time.