BRIDGTON – As part of February’s American Heart Month, Bridgton Hospital employees have announced they will join thousands of Americans nationwide in celebrating National Wear Red Day on Friday, Feb. 3. Employees throughout the hospital and physicians’ offices are encouraged to “Wear Red.”

Pam Smith, director of community relations and development, said, “National Wear Red Day is a great opportunity to reach out to women in our community and alert them to their personal risk factors for heart disease. By encouraging our employees to wear red and participating in Wear Red Day on Feb. 3, we can all show our support for women and heart disease awareness.”

Bridgton Hospital’s National Wear Red Day activities are in partnership with the Heart Truth, a national awareness campaign for women about heart disease sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Heart Truth launched the red dress as the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness in February 2003. A simple red dress works as a visual red alert to get the message heard: “Heart Disease Doesn’t Care What You Wear – It’s the #1 Killer of Women.”

National Wear Red Day is an annual event held on the first Friday in February. The first observance in February 2004 was announced at the White House. On National Wear Red Day, women and men across the country wear red to unite in the national movement to give women a personal and urgent wake-up call about their risk of heart disease. Everyone can participate in the awareness movement by showing off a favorite red dress, shirt or tie, or by wearing the red dress pin (available at www.heartruth.gov).

For more information about National Wear Red Day activities and the Heart Truth, including downloadable materials on women and heart disease and ordering information for the red dress pin, visit www.hearttruth.gov or call the institute Health Information Center at 301-592-8573.