Help raise awareness of heart disease
Fitness Australia today joined the National Heart Foundation of Australia to help raise awareness of the No. 1 killer of Australian women – heart disease.
Heart disease may be the biggest killer of Australian women but eight out of ten women remain unaware of this alarming fact,” Fitness Australia's CEO, Lauretta Stace said today.
To help raise awareness of heart disease, Fitness Australia urge all women to support the Heart Foundation’s Go Red for Women campaign to raise awareness of heart disease as a women’s health issue and promote healthier choices.
Lauretta Stace said that dispelling myths around heart disease is the first step in encouraging more women to reduce their risks and lead long, healthy lives.
“For example, many women don’t know that menopause significantly increases your risk of heart disease. Most women reach menopause between the ages of 45 and 55 years, when oestrogen decreases and the risk of heart disease increases.
Many of us also don’t know that heart disease is not only the No. 1 killer of women, but that it kills four times as many women as breast cancer.
In 2008, 11,221 Australian women died of heart disease and 2,774 women died of breast cancer.
“The Heart Foundation is encouraging women to be as vigilant in looking after their heart health as many of them are about their breast health and I’m delighted to be supporting their campaign”.
Supporting the Go Red for Women campaign is easy and will help save the lives of many Australian women. I urge all women to support the campaign, wear red on Friday 11 June and share this important message with their friends.
For more information, including the details of Go Red for Women events and order resources please visit www.goredforwomen.org.au