American Heart Association Launches American Heart Month Campaigns

The American Heart Association (heart.org) encourages the public to wear red and raise awareness while sharing photos using #GoRedNE on February 1 in honor of American Heart Month. Since the first of the month is National Wear Red Day®, the public is invited to wear red to support the fight to end heart disease and stroke, the first and fifth leading cause of death in the United States each year.

The organization will be facilitating other incentives as well. To kick off the month, every baby born in the state of Nebraska at participating hospitals will receive a red hat through the American Heart Association’s Little Hats, Big Hearts campaign. More than 1,600 hats will be delivered with love from people across Nebraska and around the United States, for babies in the community.

The Little Hats, Big Hearts program raises awareness of heart disease, and congenital heart defects, the most common type of birth defect in the country. This year, 27 hospitals across the state will receive hats to distribute to newborns. The week of February 7 is Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week, and the American Heart Association and the American Stroke encourage you to follow the hashtag #LittleHatsBigHeartsNE. The media is encouraged to reach out directly to the hospitals for video footage or photographs.

While February is designated as American Heart Month, it’s important to realize that cardiovascular disease knows no borders. Cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke, remains the leading global cause of death with more than 17.3 million deaths each year. That number is expected to rise to more than 23.6 million by 2030.

The American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association are devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-800-AHA-USA1, visit heart.org or call any of our offices around the country.