Saint Barnabas Medical Center joined the American Heart Association’s (AHA) fight against heart disease Friday by holding "National Wear Red Day." Physicians, staff and volunteers wore red to work to help raise women’s awareness of cardiovascular disease, which, while preventable, is still the number one killer of women.  To mark the event, The Heart Center at Saint Barnabas Medical Center held the following activities:

• “Go Red” Indoor Walking Trail and free pedometers for participants
• “Red Dress” drawing and giveaways 
• Heart-healthy menu items and cooking demonstrations by Sodexo
• Red carnations and heart-healthy education were given to all inpatients with their lunch
• The outside of the medical center was illuminated in red

Heart disease is a major risk. In the U.S., it kills two times more people than all kinds of cancer. In recognition of American Heart Month, Saint Barnabas Medical Center and the Barnabas Health Outpatient Centers are pleased to offer the following programs and activities in February designed to improve heart health.

FREE Individual Cardiac Risk Assessment Because approximately 450,000 women die each year from cardiovascular disease, women need to know they are at risk so they can take action to protect their health. To help, Saint Barnabas Medical Center is encouraging women of all ages to find out if they are at risk.  Saint Barnabas’ free Women’s Cardiac Risk Assessment program allows women to make an appointment for a free personal consultation by calling (973) 322-5900 or take an online risk assessment at barnabashealth.org/womensheart.  

Heart Disease: Cause, Diagnosis, Treatment Feb. 8, 6 p.m. at Barnabas Health Ambulatory Care Center, 200 S. Orange Ave., Livingston. A cardiac nurse presents the important facts you should know about heart disease. 

Diabetes and Heart Disease Feb. 8; 6:30 to 7:30 pm at Barnabas Health Ambulatory Care Center, 200 S. Orange Ave., Livingston. Did you know that adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates about 2 to 4 times higher than adults without diabetes? As part of American Heart Month, Maureen Smith RN, BSN, Nurse Manager of Cardiac Rehabilitation, will present review the strategies for keeping your heart in good health when you have diabetes.  Topics include: what cardiovascular disease is, diagnostic tools used to evaluate heart disease and ways to keep your heart in its best shape. The program is free, but pre-registration is required. Please call (973) 322-7007 or (973) 322-9787. 

Know Your Numbers: A Heart to Heart Discussion on Cardiac Health Feb. 15; 7:30 to 8:30 pm at Leon & Toby Cooperman JCC MetroWest, 760 Northfield Ave., West Orange. Jeffrey Lander, MD, a cardiologist at Saint Barnabas, will discuss the importance of “knowing your numbers” -- cholesterol, triglyceride levels and blood pressure – which is an important part of maintaining heart-health. The program is free, but advanced registration is required: 973-322-5620 or barnabashealthcalendar.org/sbmc. (You do not need to be a JCC member to participate.)