Some 350 women attended the Breakfast in Red event on Feb. 6 at the new Venetian Center in Leesburg to learn about cardiovascular disease, the number one killer of women.

Dr. Michelle Wood, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Leesburg Regional Medical Center, shared the following facts:

• One woman every minute dies from a heart disease.
• Each year more women than men die from heart disease.
• Women are less likely to call 9-1-1 when experiencing symptoms of heart attack.
• Sixty-four percent of women who die suddenly from heart attack had no previous symptoms.

Regarding heart-health, the breakfast crowd was told they can make positive lifestyle changes in their lives by consuming a healthy diet and engaging in at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week, which can make big difference and be even superior to medication in some cases. Examples of moderate exercise includes brisk walking, biking 5-9mph, ballroom dancing, active yoga, recreational swimming.

Most people are aware that the risk factors for heart disease are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, lack of regular activity, being above ideal weight, stress and depression. However, Dr. Wood says there are other risk factors beyond the basics, including having a history of breast cancer, lupus, gestational diabetes, preterm delivery, preeclampsia, PCOS, rheumatoid arthritis.

The breakfast crowd was provided a variety of educational literature, a heart-healthy cookbook, and advised to “take the pledge” to increase more fiber, exercise, fish, fruits, veggies, whole grains, low-fat dairy, nuts, legumes, vitamins and meditation into their lives while making an effort to take in less salt, junk food, second-hand smoke, TV, electronics, stress, stagnation, saturated fats, weight gain, alcohol intake and high-fat foods.

Interested in learning more about heart health? People may take a heart attack risk assessment at www.LeesburgRegional.org/HeartRisk.

The Breakfast in Red event was presented by Leesburg Regional Medical Center in partnership with the American Heart Association and its Go Red for Women® campaign.