The First Ladies Red Dress Collection Opens at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Today, The Heart Truth First Ladies Red Dress Collection, presented by Quaker Oatmeal, opened at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. America’s seven living First Ladies have joined the Red Dress movement by loaning red suits and gowns for the exhibit. The Red Dress is the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness and the centerpiece of The Heart Truth campaign.
This prestigious exhibit, on display through Mothers’ Day, May 13 2007, also includes the premier public showing of red dresses worn by some of today’s most celebrated women at The Heart Truth Red Dress Collection during New York’s Fashion Week earlier this month.
To celebrate the official opening, Quaker Oatmeal and The Heart Truth hosted a heart healthy breakfast, ribbon cutting and presentation, emceed by Larry King. Former First Lady, Nancy Reagan was in attendance in addition to more than 200 invited guests.
“As a leader in heart-healthy foods, Quaker knows the importance of generating awareness about women and heart disease, and we’re honored to help bring this one-of-a-kind exhibit to the public to help extend the message,” said Todd Magazine, president, Quaker Foods.
Quaker Oatmeal has a strong track record of promoting heart health and helping educate women and men about the critical role cholesterol plays in heart health¹. In fact, Quaker Oatmeal developed the Quaker Smart Heart Challenge 10 years ago as part of a “real people, real results” advertising campaign. The Challenge is a simple way to help people see if they can lower their cholesterol by combining a heart-healthy diet and regular activity with eating a good-sized bowl of oatmeal each day for 30 days. Over the years, thousands of women and men have been motivated to know their cholesterol numbers and manage their heart health.
New data from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health, shows that the number of women who die from heart disease has shifted from one in three women to one in four — a decrease of nearly 17,000 deaths from 2003 to 2004.
According to NHLBI, even with this great news it is important to recognize that many challenges still remain. In fact, one third of women underestimate their own risk for heart disease. Most women fail to make the connection between risk factors and their personal risk for developing heart disease.
As the First Ladies Red Dress Collection helps to further raise awareness of the issue of heart disease in America, Quaker Oatmeal wants to help turn that awareness into action by inviting people to participate in The Quaker Smart Heart Challenge. For more information, and to sign up for the Challenge go to www.quakeroatmeal.com.
¹In fact it was 10 years ago that oats were the first whole grain to be the subject of an FDA sanctioned health claim. FDA recognized that soluble fiber from oats, as part of a heart healthy diet, can help lower cholesterol and reduce heart disease risk.
Quaker Oatmeal is a proud partner of The Heart Truth. Its Smart Heart Challenge is an initiative to encourage people to make simple lifestyle changes including exercising, eating right, and eating a good-sized bowl of oatmeal every day for 30 days to help lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. For more information visit: www.quakeroatmeal.com.
The Heart Truth is a national awareness campaign sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), in partnership with: The Office on Women’s Health, (OWH); the American Heart Association; WomenHeart: the National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease; and other organizations committed to the health and well-being of women.
The Red Dress is the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness and the centerpiece of The Heart Truth –a national awareness campaign that warns women about their risk of heart disease and inspires them to take action to lower it. The Heart Truth created and introduced the Red Dress in 2002, to deliver an urgent wakeup call to American women.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library houses over 55 million pages of papers and over 100,000 gifts and artifacts chronicling the lives of Ronald and Nancy Reagan. Home to Air Force One 27000, it also serves as the final resting places of America’s 40th President.