Walk held on Bayshore Boulevard to raise awareness for American Heart Month

TAMPA, Fla. - Friday marks National Wear Red Day and kicks off American Heart Month, which is celebrated every February. 

Walkers and volunteers with the American Heart Association wore red and gathered for a one-mile stroll on Bayshore Boulevard on Friday morning. 

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"There's a lot of buzz. It grows bigger and bigger every year," Ruby Hope said of the walk. "Joining together to say not only are we going to talk about it, we're going to do something about it."

Hope suffered a heart attack ten years ago and shares her story to raise awareness. 

"I started having pain in my wrists, and I had just a little bit of perspiration. But I had this overwhelming sense of doom," Hope said. "And those were the symptoms that I had, which are not your typical symptoms."

Hope is one of over 60 million American women living with some form of heart disease. According to the CDC, heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S. 

"Men tend to have more disease [in] the big vessels of the heart. Women tend to have more disease on the smaller vessels," AdventHealth Carrollwood Cardiologist Dr. Paula Hernandez said.

Women can experience different heart disease symptoms than men. As a result, sometimes women don’t seek medical attention as early as they should, local cardiologists tell FOX 13.  

"Chest pain is still the number one symptom in a heart attack. But women can experience shortness of breath, dizziness, even fainting," Hernandez said. "They may have nausea, vomiting, indigestion, or pain that's not necessarily chest pain. It may be abdominal pain or back pain, jaw pain."

In 2021, heart disease was responsible for about one in every five female deaths, CDC data shows. 

Risk factors can include high blood pressure, diabetes, and family history. 

"Whenever we see a patient coming in with symptoms that may be secondary to heart disease, we shouldn't just brush it off and say, this may be anxiety or this may be something that can wait," Hernandez said. "We need to be more proactive and help our women."

According to the Cleveland Clinic, 90% of heart disease is preventable through eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and not smoking.

Tampa mayor Jane Castor proclaimed February 2 "Wear Red For Women's Heart Health Day." The city will be lit up in red on Friday night.