Paint the Town Pink may be just around the corner, but February is American Heart Month. To spread awareness of women’s heart health, people are asked to wear red on Feb. 2 for National Wear Red Day.

According to the American Heart Association, heart disease and stroke are the number one killers of women, with approximately 500,000 women dying each year. That accounts for one in three deaths among women each year, more than all forms of cancer combined. According to the Resuscitation Science Symposium, men are more likely to receive CPR in public from a bystander than women.

Approximately 500,000 women die every year from

National Wear Red Day was started by the National Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute in 2003 to bring awareness to this epidemic and help raise funds for heart health research. According to the American Heart Associations 2017 statistics:

• Nearly 90 percent of women have made at least one healthy behavior change;

• More than one-third of women has lost weight;

• More than 50 percent of women have increased their exercise;

• 60 percent of women have changed their diets;

• More than 40 percent of women have checked their cholesterol levels.

• Nearly 300 fewer women die from heart disease and stroke each day; and

• Death in women has decreased by more than 30 percent over the past 10 years.

Learn more  about National Wear Red Day, heart health, or to donate visit  goredforwomen.org.