FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 1, 2006
Contact: Jeff Kasper, (907) 465-8194, Cell (907) 321-3158
Ross Soboleff, (907) 465-1611, Cell (907) 321-3838
“Go Red For Women” Day focuses attention on what women can do to reduce heart disease and stroke
February is American Heart Month
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( Juneau, Alaska) — First Lady Nancy Murkowski, honorary chair of the “Go Red For Women” campaign, and Health and Social Services Commissioner Karleen Jackson today kicked off American Heart Month and “Go Red For Women” Day at the Atrium of the State Office Building in Juneau.
“Go Red For Women” Day on February 3 is part of the American Heart Association’s national movement to empower women to wipe out heart disease, the No. 2 killer in Alaska. Wom en and men are invited to attend and wear red in support of the event.
“Of the Alaskan women who die each year, one in four die from heart disease and stroke,” said First Lady Murkowski, who read Governor Frank H. Murkowski’s “Go Red For Women” Day proclamation. “Only 13 percent of women nationwide consider cardiovascular disease their greatest health risk. We wear red today to increase our own individual awareness of heart disease, and as a sign that we, as women, can take charge of our heart health.”
Health and Social Services Commissioner Karleen Jackson read the Governor’s proclamation for American Hearth Month in Alaska. “By increasing awareness and empowering women to reduce their risk for cardiovascular disease, we can save lives and decrease needless suffering each year,” Jackson said. “In Alaska, the death rate from heart attack has decreased for men, but has stayed roughly the same for women. If those trends continue, women will have a higher death rate from heart disease than men in 2006.”
For more information about heart health:
Alaska-Specific Resources:
http://www.hss.state.ak.us/dph/chronic/chp/default.htmhttp://partners.hss.state.ak.us/takeheart/
http://www.hss.state.ak.us/dph/director/health_tips/2004/feb/default.htm
http://www.partners.hss.state.ak.us/takeheart/APPA.htm
http://www.epi.hss.state.ak.us/bulletins/catlist.jsp?cattype=Cardiovascular+Disease
National Resources:
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Fact Sheet: Cardiovascular Disease in Alaska (PDF 49KB)
"Go Red For Women" Day, Governor Murkowski's Proclamation (PDF 115KB)
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