Heart Month Kicks-off with Wear Red Day & Little Hats, Big Hearts

February represents the Heart Month to raise awareness for heart disease.  Every month is heart month given the burden of disease, but we hope to increase engagement and awareness among all or our patients and friends.  Duke Heart celebrations for heart month are in full swing! On Friday, Duke Heart hosted a booth outside of the Duke Atrium Café to celebrate National Wear Red Day for Women. The team provided red awareness ribbons, heart health information and the opportunity to register for door prizes. Our grand prize was four tickets to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte and our winner was Sherry Perry. Congratulations, Sherry!

Included here is our DUH booth, the team at our new Heritage Clinic location (including our Clinician Maitreya Thakkar.  Also our Medical Center Library & Archives staff also supported the efforts. Thanks to all Wear Red participants!

Meanwhile, Durham Police Department again helped support Duke Heart and our congenital heart program through the American Heart Association’s Little Hats, Big Hearts initiative. Approximately 480 crocheted and knit red hats were delivered to the birthing unit at Duke University Hospital and to Duke Regional Hospital. The hats were knit by officers and staff in the DPD. Little Hats, Big Hearts is an effort to help spread heart disease awareness to new moms as well as provide information related to congenital heart defects, the most common birth defect world-wide. All babies born at DUH and Duke Regional during the month of February will receive a hat. Check out news coverage from Friday morning, below (see news).  Also see the NY Times story on Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissections in women by our fellow Haider Warraich in the News section.