Today is National Wear Red Day, which is designed to promote heart disease awareness among women.
To help educate women, the American Heart Association is turning to an unusual way to spread the message. It's releasing a new film called "Just a Little Heart Attack", a comedy about a woman having a heart attack.
The short film is a humorous exaggeration of a typical working mother, focused not on her own needs but on everyone else's.
A working mother herself, Elizabeth Banks directed the film and stars as the mom who ignores signs of a heart attack in favor of getting her family out the door on time. She partnered with the American Heart Association for this unique way of spreading heart disease awareness. "It was definitely tricky to convince them that using humor would be a great way to talk about heart disease," Banks said.
Many women don't like to talk about the facts. Did you know heart disease is the number one killer of women? Did you know reducing your risk for a heart attack means taking the time no one thinks they have?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 616,000 people died of heart disease in 2008. To prevent it, you have to eat right, quit smoking and exercise. "More women are dying of heart disease than men every year," said Dr. Martha Grogan, a cardiologist. And yes, it can happen to you. "Even though you may be thin and look the picture of health, you are at risk for heart disease," said Dr. Jennifer Mieres, a cardiologist.
The film also drops a heavy hint to men to pay close attention to the health of the women in their lives. The filmmakers hope by injecting a little humor into the discussion, it will help wake up women to the reality of heart disease. And in this case, they believe the best way to deliver heart disease messages to a woman's brain may be through her funny bone.
Watch the film here.
Do you know how to protect yourself from heart disease? What steps have you taken to reduce your risk? Do you think the film will have an impact on women? Leave your thoughts below.
This is today's Facebook Story of the Day. To help pick the story, click here.
Information from NBC News used in this article.
