According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death among women in the United States.

That’s why Syracuse University’s Healthy Monday initiative–in collaboration with the Sid and Helaine Center for Health Communications and the Lerner Center, and with support from Newhouse School Dean Lorraine Branham–is asking SU students, faculty and staff to wear red on Friday, Feb. 5.

The initiative is part of the American Heart Association’s national “Go Red for Women” campaign, which seeks to change the perception of heart disease as a “man’s disease” and teach women how to talk to their doctors about it.

Branham has a personal connection to the campaign, having recently lost her sister to a heart attack.

“Her death was totally unexpected,” Branham says. “She, like a lot of women, had no idea she was at risk. Heart disease is the number one killer of women in America, and African American women are more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than women of other races. We need to educate all women about the threat of heart disease and encourage more research on heart disease in women.

“It is my great hope that this simple gesture of wearing red will raise awareness of this serious health problem and encourage all SU women—students, faculty and staff—to learn what they can do to decrease their risk."

Healthy Monday staff will also distribute American Heart Association pins every Monday in February from noon- 3 p.m. in the atrium of the Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Student Center.

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