Andie MacDowell and Hoda Kotb Join the American Heart Association’s Fight
Against the No. 1 Killer of Women

DALLAS, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Research shows that 80 percent of
cardiac events in women could be prevented if women make the right choices for
their hearts, involving diet, exercise and abstinence from smoking. That’s why
the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women is teaching women across the
country how to make small – yet life-saving – choices for their hearts in a
new 30-minute NBC television special, “Go Red For Women Presents – Choose To
Live!” The special, featuring Andie MacDowell and hosted by Hoda Kotb, aims to
inspire women to take action by highlighting the personal stories of women
choosing to beat heart disease.

Last February, Go Red For Women held a nationwide casting call to find women
who are choosing to live better. From the hundreds of stories submitted during
the call, nine women were selected to be the 2009 Go Red Women, one of whom
joined Andie MacDowell to share the life-saving choices she made for her heart
in “Go Red For Women Presents – Choose To Live!”

“As I celebrate life, I can’t help but think how young my mom was when she
died of a heart attack at 53. My mom didn’t get to meet her grandchildren, but
I’m determined to watch mine grow up,” said Andie MacDowell, actress and Go
Red For Women supporter. “Right now, one in three women die of heart disease,
but we can choose to beat it, using the tools and support provided by Go Red
For Women.”

In addition to Andie MacDowell, viewers will hear from registered dietician,
Samantha Heller, to provide heart-healthy eating tips, expert cardiologist,
Dr. Susan Bennett, and real women choosing to beat heart disease.

“Cardiovascular disease takes the life of nearly one woman every minute, yet
we can prevent death and disability by adding a few minutes of healthy
activities each day,” said Susan Bennett, M.D., Go Red For Women spokesperson
and Professor of Medicine at George Washington University Medical Center. “I
encourage women to start with small, simple choices when it comes to their
heart-health. ‘Go Red For Women Presents – Choose To Live!’ will educate and
empower women to choose to build a better life for themselves and their
communities.”

“Go Red For Women Presents – Choose To Live!” premieres on NBC in national
syndication beginning in September and on MSNBC on September 12 at 12:00 p.m.
EDT. Visit www.GoRedForWomen.org for local listings.

2009 GO RED WOMEN
The 2009 Go Red Women were selected to inspire women to live a healthier life
through their compelling stories of choice. Go Red For Women hopes that by
meeting real women who have turned their personal choices into life-saving
actions, women will encourage others to speak up about heart disease and
empower themselves to live better.

The 2009 Go Red Women include:
–  Survivors
–  Andrea – A 35-year-old pregnant woman who ignored her symptoms for
hours before she realized she was having a heart attack.
–  Gloria – A busy mother whose choice to listen to her body and
heart
saved her life.
–  Jenna – A 23-year-old bride-to-be who faced risk of heart failure
alone while her fiance was in Iraq.
–  Rolanda – A heart attack survivor who learned how to make healthy
lifestyle choices during times of stress and thrive.
–  Women with a Family History of Heart Disease
–  Vickie – A daughter determined to not let her family’s heart
history shape her own.
–  Gail – A mother at risk for heart disease whose daughter’s
pleas led her to take charge of her health and change her life.
–  Maria – A Latina mother and wife dedicated to erasing heart
disease
from her family history and building a healthier life for her
family.
–  Heart-Health Activists
–  Yuki – A daughter whose father’s heart transplant transformed
their relationship from torn apart to treasured.

–  Jennifer – An inspiring woman who loved her heart enough to change
her unhealthy lifestyle and mindset.

To meet the 2009 Go Red Women and learn how you can choose to live better,
visit www.GoRedForWomen.org.

NO. 1 KILLER OF WOMEN
Over 41 million American women are living with one or more types of
cardiovascular disease, yet only one in five women view heart disease as their
greatest health threat.

Other alarming heart health statistics from the American Heart Association
include:
–  One in three women have one or more types of cardiovascular disease.

–  More women die of cardiovascular disease than the next five causes of
death combined, including cancer.

CHOOSE TO SPEAK UP
Heart disease is largely preventable, we simply have to choose to act.
Regardless of gender, race or family history, every woman can speak up for her
heart and choose to live.

–  CHOOSE TO GO RED. Research shows that women who Go Red are more likely
to make better choices. As a result of joining Go Red:
–  More than 40 percent have lost weight
–  More than half have increased their exercise
–  Six out of ten have changed their diet
–  53 percent have checked their cholesterol levels
–  A third have investigated their heart-health family history or
talked to their doctor about their personal heart risk
–  BE A BETTERU. Go Red BetterU is the free, 12-week online makeover that
can save your life. Choose to be a BetterU at www.GoRedForWomen.org.
–  CONNECT: Join Go Red For Women to share your healthy choices and
connect
with women who are speaking up for women’s heart health nationwide
at www.GoRedForWomen.org.
–  GET INVOLVED: Contact your local Go Red For Women chapter. Go to
www.GoRedForWomen.org for details on how you can get involved.

–  ASK THE EXPERT: Get your questions answered by an American Heart
Association expert at www.GoRedForWomen.org.

For more information about Go Red For Women, “Go Red For Women Presents -
Choose To Live!” or to meet the 2009 Go Red Women, please visit
www.GoRedForWomen.org. Go Red For Women is nationally sponsored by Macy’s and
Merck & Co., Inc.

About Go Red For Women
Go Red For Women is the American Heart Association’s solution to save women’s
lives. With one out of three women still dying from heart disease, we are
committed to fighting this No. 1 killer that is largely preventable.
GoRedForWomen.org, a premiere source of information and education, connects
millions of women of all ages and gives them tangible resources to turn
personal choices into life-saving actions. We encourage women and the men who
love them to embrace the cause. For more information please visit
GoRedForWomen.org or call 1-888-MY-HEART (1-888-694-3278). The movement is
nationally sponsored by Macy’s and Merck & Co., Inc.

About the American Heart Association
Founded in 1924, we’re the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary health
organization dedicated to building healthier lives, free of heart disease and
stroke.  To help prevent, treat and defeat these diseases — America’s No. 1
and No. 3 killers — we fund cutting-edge research, conduct lifesaving public
and professional educational programs, and advocate to protect public health.
To learn more or join us in helping all Americans, call 1-800-AHA-USA1 or
visit americanheart.org.

SOURCE  American Heart Association

Megan Lozito of American Heart Association, +1-214-706-1359,
Megan.lozito@heart.org; Carey Uxa, +1-312-240-3392, Carey.Uxa@edelman.com, for
American Heart Association; or Electronic press kit:

http://pimsmultimedia.com/GoRedForWomenFall2009/

“The blueprint for initiatives to improve health by focusing on the food we eat has already been laid out by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its 2004 Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. The WHO identified policy initiatives that should be undertaken by national authorities to help reduce the incidence of obesity and diet-related disease; they include efforts to reduce the salt, trans-fat, and sugar content of processed foods, improve food labeling, and set guidelines for foods that should or should not be advertised to children. Other countries have taken the lead in protecting the health of their citizens and provide examples of how we can follow suit:

* In Japan, health officials check the waistlines of citizens over 40, and those considered too fat undergo diet counseling. Failure to slim down can lead to fines.
* New Zealand has rules barring people it deems too fat from immigrating to the country.
* Germany plans to spend $47 million on healthy eating and sports programs and to set tougher nutritional standards for school lunches.
* Denmark limits the amount of artery-clogging trans-fatty acids in restaurant foods.
* In an effort to prevent overweight in schoolchildren, a community approach that started in two towns in France has now expanded to 200 towns in Europe under the name “Together let’s prevent obesity in children.” The program encourages children to eat better and exercise more by taking such measures as building sporting facilities and playgrounds, and offering cooking workshops.
* And of course, there are the Mediterranean countries where they are practicing a healthier way of eating, by enjoying traditional diets that feature whole unprocessed foods from nature. The Mediterranean diet, lauded for its contribution to health, features fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, olive oil, and red wine.
* No other countries in the world allow the advertising of prescription drugs to the public except the United States and New Zealand.

Great Britain, in particular, has made great progress towards improving the food supply and educating its citizens:

* In Great Britain, residents in some cities are being recruited to wear electronic tracking tags to calculate how much they move each day and how many calories they burn off. Daily exercisers can be rewarded with coupons and even days off from work. Britain’s National Health Service is paying for at least 30,000 people to take weight-loss classes.
* Efforts are being made by the UK’s Food Standards Authority (FSA) to persuade companies to reformulate processed foods, use standardized front-of-pack symbols to communicate nutritional values, and set nutritional guidelines for limiting food advertising to children.
* The FSA has successfully conducted a sodium reduction program in the UK and is presently conducting a similar effort to reduce saturated fat in processed food products.
* FSA has developed a set of nutrition criteria and established a system of “traffic lights” that can be used on the fronts of food packages to communicate nutritional value. The red, amber, and green dots indicate whether a food contains high, moderate or low levels of fat, saturated fat, salt, and sugars.
* The UK traffic light system is voluntary, but may be made mandatory in the future – despite food manufacturers’ objections.
* The UK has prohibited the broadcast advertising of low-nutrition foods on television and radio programs that appeal to children under the age of 16. American food companies like Kellogg, Coca-cola, and McDonalds must comply with this new UK law (yet they continue to expose American children to advertisements now banned in England).

Send your comments to President Obama and the US Congress. Express what you feel is the most important part of a new health care system in the USA.

http://www.healthreform.gov/communityreports/comments.html