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TRENTON, NJ - Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells will serve as the Honorary
State Chairwoman and Rosaly Correa-de-Araujo MD, MSc, PhD, Director of Women's
Health and Gender-based Research at the Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality/DHHS, as Honorary National Chairwoman for the Women's Heart Foundation
3rd Annual RUN FOR YOUR HEART, to take place May 14 (Mother's Day) at Mercer
County Park, NJ, starting at 8 A.M. Peri Nearon, Director of the New Jersey Office
on Women's Health will serve as Vice Chair and Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein,
14th District, as emcee. County Executive Brian Hughes will be the Grand Marshall.
"We are using Women's Health Week as a platform to raise awareness of
wellness activities like walking just 30 minutes a day can prevent heart disease,"
said Bonnie Arkus, the founder and executive director of the Women's Heart Foundation (WHF).
"Heart disease is women's #1 killer and as health-conscious women,
we can make a loud statement by taking part in this walk,
setting an example for women of all ages," said Secretary Wells.
"I am honored to serve as this year's chairwoman and what better
way to celebrate Mother's Day than by encouraging women to make
their health a priority. I want to invite all New Jersey women to
come out and join the Women's Heart
Foundation for it's third annual run/walk and make appointments with
their physicians to get early screenings for heart disease", she said.
The event
coincides with the beginning of National Women's Health Week May 14-20, an
educational initiative of the US Department of Health and Human Service (DHHS)
Office on Women's Health.
The event is being co-sponsored by DHHS, Region II
as part of the National Institutes of Health HEART TRUTH project.
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey is also a Presenting Sponsor,
contributing $5,000 to the day's event. Other sponsors include Capital Health
System, L'Oreal USA, The Times, Packet Publications, Wegmans of Princeton,
PSE&G, Robert Wood Johnson Hamilton Center for Health and Wellness and Roma
Bank.
Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. for the 5k Run/Walk and for the 1-mile Family
Health Walk. The Run/Walk starts at 9:00 a.m.; the children's Fun Runs at
10:00 a.m. along with face-painting and other activities including a jewelry
sale with 100% of the proceeds to benefit the WHF. The Awards ceremony will take
place at 10:30 a.m.. The first 500 registrants will receive a T-Shirt.
The pre-registration fee is $18 at www.active.com.
Prizes will be presented to the top male and
female finishers and to the top corporate team with largest number registered
participants. L&M Sports will officiate the scoring and timing and Baldasari,
the race management.
The Women's Heart Foundation stresses the fact that heart disease is not just
a man's disease. A woman dies every minute from heart disease. One of three
American women will succumb. Early warning signs of heart attack presents in
71% of women with sudden onset of flu-like symptoms and a "funny feeling" in
the chest. Symptoms often go unrecognized and tests misinterpreted, leading to
more advanced vessel disease and worse outcomes.
This is evidenced by study results released last February
from the Women's Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation (WISE) demonstrating
the physiology of myocardial ischemia to be a much more complex
picture for women than previously realized with diseased arteries
appearing angiographically normal.
All studies point to the
critical need for a gender-specific cardiovascular disease intervention model
for women.
WHF is the only heart organization that designs and implements heart wellness and
intervention programs and has received national recognition for the success of its
Women's Heart Week and Medication Safety programs. Women's Heart Foundation's Teen
Esteem Health and Fitness program at Trenton Central High School was recently
featured at an international conference. Now in its second year, the program is
being studied by a research team from the Rutgers University -Camden as an
intervention model for effecting healthy lifestyle choices in adolescent girls.
"We must pull together government, civic, business and medical communities to
address women's heart disease. Receiving a proper diagnosis and access to appropriate care is a human
rights issue. We must work together with thought leaders to resolve disparities
in women's heart care and resultant poor outcomes", says Bonnie. Ms. Arkus is credited
with starting the women's heart movement in 1988, after her own mother's death from a heart
attack and subsequent heart bypass surgery.
"Because a majority of the risk factors for heart disease are
modifiable, there is a lot women can do to reduce their risks
and help prevent heart disease. By living a healthy lifestyle
including exercising for at least 30 to 40 minutes each day,
women can help beat heart disease", said Dr. Correa-de-Araujo.
The Heart Truth is a national awareness campaign for women about
heart disease 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, DHHS and other
organizations committed to the health and well-being of women.
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey believes in
social responsibility and giving back to the community.
That is why it continues to work with New Jersey communities,
addressing crucial issues we all face. Horizon BCBSNJ continues
to forge strong relationships with exceptional nonprofit organizations
and supports programs and activities that promote healthy lifestyles, wellness and prevention.
Horizon BCBSNJ is dedicated to providing the support necessary to Making Healthcare Work.
The Women's Heart Foundation is headquartered in Trenton, New Jersey.
Teen Esteem will be entering its third year of teen programming in
September 2006, and plans to expand operations by offering
the program to other inner-city schools. Founded in 1992, The WHF
seeks to define and implement
wellness and prevention programs and institutionalize
gender-specific evidence-based care to save women's lives.
For more information about the May 14 Run For Your Heart, contact the Women's Heart Foundation at (609) 771-9600 or go to www.womensheart.org to download flyer or to link to online registration at Active.com.
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