PRESS RELEASE
January 22, 2008

County Employees Asked to "Go Red for Women" on Feb. 1
Supervisor, American Heart Association Team Up for Heart-Health Awareness

SAN DIEGO – Supervisor Pam Slater-Price and the American Heart Association are teaming up for the month of February, American Heart Month, in asking county employees to help raise awareness by wearing red on Friday, Feb. 1, 2008.

“Go Red for Women” is a national movement founded by the American Heart Association in 2004 to help fight back against the No. 1 killer of American women – heart disease.

In addition to encouraging county employees to take part in National Wear Red Day, the supervisor has requested that the county building be lit red for the month of February and will recognize the American Heart Association for their efforts at the January 29 board meeting.

 “Women make so much time in their busy lives to take care of everyone else – children, spouses, co-workers, friends – that they neglect to make time for themselves,” Slater-Price said. “Regular exercise and good nutrition should be part of every woman’s daily schedule – like a business meeting with your heart.”

The American Heart Association’s goal is to reduce coronary disease and stroke in women by 25 percent by the year 2010. “Go Red for Women” aims to achieve this by helping people realize that it’s not a “man’s disease.”

Heart disease kills 500,000 American women annually – more than the next five causes of death combined, according to the American Heart Association. And yet, only 20 percent of women consider heart disease their greatest health risk.

Learn more about “Go Red for Women” at www.goredforwomen.org, and join us on Friday, Feb. 1, 2008 for National Wear Red Day.

Contact: Erica Holloway @ (619) 531-5857.