Heart to Heart: February Love Notes

From cardiovascular health to love-struck sentiments, February has become an affair of the heart. With a colorful history that dates back to ancient Rome, Valentine’s Day spawns an outpouring of romantic gestures and token gifts, from cards and candy to flowers and jewelry.

With love in the air, what better time for the American Heart Association to paint the town red with its passionate “Go Red For Women” campaign to wipe out heart disease and stroke. Embraced by millions of people across the country, the heart awareness crusade has turned the color red into a national emblem, in the same vein as breast cancer’s pink badge.

During February, proclaimed American Heart Month in 1963, the ubiquitous little black dress has been replaced by a fiery red one, radiating love, passion, strength and courage in the fight against heart disease – the number one killer of women.

This past year, designer Nicole Miller partnered with Campbell to create three dazzling red dresses for the Woman’s Day Red Dress Awards. Actress Jane Krakowski wore the winning “Red White and Seamed” design to the show.

Campbell has pledged $3.6 million over six years to help fight heart disease among women, supporting both AHA, as well as The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s “Heart Truth” campaign, which has added fuel to the fire.

Swarovski, too, has been a catalyst in the movement. Since creating the first red dress pin made from gorgeous Swarovski crystals in 2003, the fashion jewelry icon has contributed more than $1.6 million to the cause through partnerships with AHA and national sponsorship of NHLBI’s The Heart Truth’s Red Dress collection fashion show, held during New York Fashion Week.

The concerted effort is working, changing the perception that heart disease is a “man’s disease” and encouraging women to talk to their doctors to improve their heart health and live stronger, longer lives.

We celebrate all matters of the heart. So show your support on National Wear Red Day, Feb. 5. Attend Atlanta’s 29th annual Heart Ball on March 20, which funds cardiovascular disease research and education in the community. And send your sweetheart a valentine.