Give the Gift of Health to the Women You Love Most

With the Holidays Approaching...give the Gift of Health to the women you love most....

The women in my life are irreplaceable. Go Red For Women can help you and the ones you love turn small personal choices into life-saving actions! My purpose for this blog post is to not only challenge you but for YOU to challenge the women you love the most! Here is your challenge... #1: choose to live #2: choose to get active #3: choose to get the facts at www.GoRedForWomen.org.

As Mrs. International I am honored to have the opportunity and Voice to help in the fight against the #1 killer in women, heart disease. It's heart breaking that heart disease takes a woman's life EVERY single minute! In the time it takes me to type this entry, how many mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, best friends will no longer be with us because heart disease takes their life? There are many women in my life who mean the world to me and immediately come to mind when I hear the statistic " 1 in 3 woman will be affected by heart disease"...my mom, my sister, my step-mother...that's 3 and the thoughts of losing one...I don't want to even think about it, so join me and let's take action today!

I want to remind everyone about heart attack symptoms, specifically in women...

I have heard that it is common to completely miss or disregard heart attack symptoms at the initial stages because symptoms show up differently in women than in men. Immediate intervention/action can mean life or death, therefore, ALL women should be aware of the warning signs. Read and re-read these and share them I challenge you to share these warning signs with 5 of your girlfriends today! Ladies, we don't have minutes to spare!

Most heart attacks start slowly with mild pain or discomfort. Symptoms can include:

*Shortness of breath may occur with or without chest discomfort.
*Nausea and light-headedness
*Flu-like symptoms, including chills and cold sweats
*Heart palpitations
*Chest discomfort, pain, tightness or pressure in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back
*Discomfort in other areas, including pain or discomfort in: one or both arms (especially the left arm), the back, between the shoulder blades, neck, jaw or stomach
*Heartburn or indigestion
*Extreme fatigue

I also want to take this opportunity to publicly thank Simone McDowell, Marketing and Communications Director for the Greater Charlotte American Heart Association office who has welcomed me in so many ways and continues to involve me in the many events to fight the #1 killer of women!

Ladies, let's encourage and support one another. So many people depend on YOU and love YOU! After all, we have one life to live!

Have a beautiful and blessed holiday season!

Until next post, remain blessed!

Shannon