Today Is National Wear Red Day. Here’s Why People Are Dressing Up

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The American Heart Association's Go Red For Women Red Dress Collection 2017 Presented By Macy's at Fashion Week in New York City - Backstage
(L-R) Bridget Moynahan, Rachel Platten, Veronica Webb, Bonnie Somerville, Lauren Holly and Jeannie Mai attend the American Heart Association's Go Red For Women Red Dress Collection 2017 presented by Macy's at Fashion Week in New York City at Hammerstein Ballroom on February 9, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for AHA)Jamie McCarthy—Getty Images for AHA
By Flora Carr
Updated: | Originally published: ;

Women (and men) across America will be color-coordinating today for National Wear Red Day 2018, which aims to dispel myths surrounding heart diseases.

National Wear Red Day is intended to help raise awareness of heart disease, in particular among women. Heart disease is often generally associated with men, but cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women.

Every year, nearly 500,000 American women die from heart disease and stroke.

Launched in 2004 by the American Heart Association (AHA), National Wear Red Day also aims to raise funds for research into the misunderstood disease.

Here are five more heart disease facts from the American Heart Association in honor of National Wear Red Day:

  • Only 55 percent of women realize heart disease is the No. 1 killer for American women.
  • Fewer than half of American women know what a healthy blood pressure or cholesterol level is.
  • Your BMI (Body Mass Index) isn’t just helpful when it comes to diets or losing weight – it’s also linked to your risk of heart disease.
  • It’s a myth that strokes, which affect the arteries linked to the brain, only happen to older people. Strokes can happen even in infants.
  • Women are also more likely to suffer from a stroke, contrary to popular myths.

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