Feb. 2 is National “Wear Red Day”

ALBANY — Twenty years ago, the American Heart Association started the Go Red for Women movement to empower women to fight heart disease, their No. 1 killer. 

For 20 years, people nationwide have used the first Friday in February, National Wear Red Day, as a day of education and awareness-raising. 

This year, National Wear Red Day is Friday, Feb. 2, and across the Capital Region, and across the nation, people will wear red, donate to the Heart Association, and many businesses – and the Empire State Plaza – will illuminate their buildings red to shine a bright light on heart disease in women. 

There are many reasons to Go Red on Friday, Feb. 2, primarily:

• Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women.

• Nearly 45% of women over age 20 are living with some form of cardiovascular disease. 

• Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of maternal death in the U.S.

• Women are less likely than men to receive bystander CPR in an emergency, and 23% less likely to survive sudden cardiac arrest.

• Only 38% of cardiovascular clinical research trial participants were women as of 2020.

People are encouraged to share their Wear Red Day activities on social media with the hashtags #WearRedDay #WearRedandGive #GoRed518 and tag @AHANewYork on Facebook, Instagram and X.