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National Woman's Heart Day(R) Health Fair Offers Free Screenings, Advice for Los Angeles Women

Posted on: Monday, 30 January 2006, 12:00 CST

Heart disease is women's No. 1 health threat, killing more women than the next six causes of death combined. Yet only 13 percent of women consider heart disease to be their greatest personal health risk. That's why it's critical that women get screened to learn their heart disease risk factors and take steps to reduce them.

Women can obtain free heart health screenings with on-the-spot results and advice on adopting heart-healthy lifestyles at the National Woman's Heart Day(R) Health Fair on Friday, February 17, 2006. Sponsored by non-profit Sister to Sister: Everyone Has a Heart Foundation, Inc., the health fair will be held at the Staples Center from 8:30am to 2:30pm.

Co-chairwomen Jeanie Buss, Executive VP Business Affairs, Los Angeles Lakers; L.A. County Supervisor Yvonne Burke; and Dr. Noel Bairey Merz, Medical Director, Women's Health Program, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, will be in attendance, as will wives of several of the Los Angeles Lakers (who are always taking care of their husbands, but often neglect themselves).

Women can learn their cholesterol, blood pressure and blood glucose levels and body mass index from the 15-minute heart health screenings. Results are provided on-site and include an overall risk assessment and counseling. Women also can participate in fitness exhibitions, including playing table tennis with Killerspin-sponsored international champions. There will also be healthy-cooking demonstrations; hear from nationally known experts on diabetes, nutrition, obesity, fitness, smoking cessation and stress management; and even get a free massage. Prizes and giveaways are offered as well.

The heart health fairs occur annually across the nation on the third Friday in February, officially declared as National Woman's Heart Day(R) by the federal government. This year, the Sister to Sister: Everyone Has a Heart Foundation is sponsoring heart-health screening fairs in 14 major U.S. cities.

Businesswoman and health care professional Irene Pollin, president of Sister to Sister: Everyone Has a Heart Foundation, founded Sister to Sister in 2000. It is the only national organization focused on the screening and prevention of heart disease in women.

"Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women," said Mrs. Pollin. "Screenings for potential heart problems, so women can learn about their personal risk factors and how to reduce them, is a critical first step in prevention and treatment. Unfortunately, too many women, with their multi-tasking duties and care giving, neglect their own well-being and are toying dangerously with their health."

In 2005, half of the more than 8,000 women that Sister to Sister screened were found to have two or more risk factors for heart disease. A significant number of them were unaware of their risk before the screening.

Sponsors of the Los Angeles event include Rite Aid, Anschutz Entertainment Group, LA Lakers and Sparks, BET, Nature Made Vitamins, Levy Restaurants and Lions Gate Films. National partners include America Online, Discovery Health Channel and Woman's Day. Government partners include the Office on Women's Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; the Office of Research on Women's Health in the National Institutes of Health; the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute in NIH; and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Sister to Sister is a 501(c)(3) foundation that is dedicated solely to bringing free heart disease screenings and "heart-healthy" information and support to women to prevent heart disease. For more information, please visit www.womansheartday.org

Source: Business Wire

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