Galesburg hospitals promote women’s health and fitness

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On top of February being American Heart Month, today is national Wear Red Day.

OSF St. Mary Medical Center and Galesburg Cottage Hospital hosted open houses with booths, food and opportunities for exercise this morning to spread awareness.

At St. Mary’s, Rehab Director and Physical Therapist Jan Glasnovich tells WGIL the hospital’s annual Women’s Health and Fitness Fair is in conjunction with the American Heart Association.

“Women have heart disease as much, or more, than men,” Glasnovich says. “But the symptoms and the signs of heart attacks and heart problems are more subtle, so we just want to raise awareness.”

The St. Mary’s event had more than 20 booths offering everything from blood pressure screenings to jewelry for sale.

At the same time this morning, Cottage Hospital was holding their Go Red open house. Cottage Spokeswoman Eileen Inness says getting the word out has had a positive impact.

“Heart disease is now the number two killer of women,” she says. “It was the number killer, so within the last couple of years, they’ve been able to reduce those numbers.”

Tips to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease include eating foods low in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol and getting plenty of fruit vegetable and whole grains. Staying at a healthy weight and getting plenty of exercise also helps reduce the risk of heart disease.

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