GREAT NECK, NY -- February is Heart Health Month and the Girl Scouts of Nassau County helped North Shore-LIJ Health System “celebrate and educate” women about the dangers and symptoms of heart disease during the seventh annual “Go Red” for Women Day at North Shore University Hospital on February 5, which this year became a heart health awareness day for young girls too.
 
Go Red for Women, the national observance created by the American Heart Association (AHA), empowers women to make positive lifestyle changes and help reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke. North Shore-LIJ is the official Long Island/Queens Go Red for Women sponsor.
   
 “Because a good start for the heart begins in childhood, this year’s event focused on how young girls and women can adopt heart healthy behaviors early on that will be beneficial to them throughout their lives,” said North Shore-LIJ’s President and CEO Michael J. Dowling, himself a heart disease survivor. Mr. Dowling explained that the health system recently partnered with the Girl Scouts of Nassau County and the AHA to create a heart health patch program to educate girls and their family members about developing healthy habits to stop the number one killer of American women - cardiovascular disease. 

Donna Ceravolo, the executive director and CEO, Girl Scouts of Nassau County, who served as the keynote speaker for the Go Red event spoke about the innovative heart patch program and her own personal experience with heart disease.  Members of the Girl Scouts conducted a heart healthy cooking demo that was “so easy, a kid could do it,” and heart patient Duffy Spencer, PhD, shared her inspiring story of overcoming and living with aortic stenosis. She said listening to her body and seeking a second opinion helped her become “a heart disease survivor.”   
                                  
Traditionally, support for Go Red for Women is demonstrated by dressing in red.  The red dress is a symbol for women and heart disease and for the AHA’s Go Red for Women movement. This year, the traditional blues, browns and greens (colors of the various Girl Scout uniforms) were added to the sea of supporters wearing red clothes – with an all Girl Scout honor guard and Girl Scout chefs to demonstrate the importance that heart healthy habits start young.

Contact: Brian Mulligan             
North Shore-LIJ Health System
(516) 465-2618 (o)/(631) 987-6440 (c)
          
Jessica DiMeo
American Heart Association (AHA)
(516) 450-9111(o)/(516) 729-0930 (c)