I appreciate the Mayor, Mark Honey, allowing me to use his regular column to share with you something that is literally very close to my heart.
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I recently caught up with Andy Mark, who does such great work for the Heart Foundation in our region.
Andy told me about the new awareness campaign being run in June called Making the Invisible Visible.
The campaign is targeting the issue of heart disease and women.
It is shocking to learn that heart disease is the leading cause of death in Australian women.
Another shocking fact is 24 women die from heart disease every day.
Three times as many women die of heart disease as from breast cancer each year.
I think most people would naturally assume that breast cancer was the bigger killer.
The campaign is called Making the Invisible Visible because, obviously, heart disease amongst women does not get anywhere near the publicity across Australia that breast cancer does.
So this June they are asking people to learn more about this “hidden killer” and spread the word so we can start doing something more about it.
The Heart Foundation has some great online resources at www.invisiblevisible.org.au where you can learn more about heart disease and women.
The Foundation has also a great range of ways people, groups and organisations can take part in the campaign.
These include:
- Make a red heart visible somewhere on your body.
- Snap a photo or record a short video capturing your heart story.
- Donate online and share on social media via #womenshearts
There are also two actions I’d suggest local women could take to help avoid heart disease.
Each is an enjoyable way of taking more exercise.
The Heart Foundation has its own walking group in Kiama which meets opposite the Commonwealth Bank every weekday morning at 8 o’clock.
The Kiama Leisure Centre also runs a number of programs which can help you avoid becoming a statistic.
You can give them a ring on (02) 4232 1877 to find out more.
- Kiama Deputy Mayor, Kathy Rice