Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among women, according to the American Heart Association. The organization is aiming to address gaps in awareness about the severity of the disease, including in high-risk states like Oregon and Washington, by launching their 2026 Go Red for Women campaign.
Cardiovascular disease, often referred to as CVD, is an umbrella term for conditions that affect the heart and blood vessels, including heart attacks, strokes and other circulatory disorders.
AHA selected Brooke Baldwin, senior vice president and chief nursing executive for Oregon Health & Science University, to serve as the chairperson for the campaign in the Oregon and Southwest Washington region. Baldwin, who opened up to X1 Media about her family’s significant history of CVD, said women are disproportionately affected, often at younger ages, but research has historically centered on men.
“Women present differently with cardiovascular disease, so many go undiagnosed,” Baldwin said. “Most of the research has been done on males only. This is something that really doesn’t get recognized or talked about as much as we should be talking about it.”
DEMOGRAPHICS
According to the AHA, any woman age 20 or older is at risk of CVD and about 45 percent have some form of cardiovascular disease. Women residing in Oregon and southwest Washington face significant risk according to the organization.
CVD can also affect women during pregnancy and menopause.
“There’s still the perception that it is only older women who get cardiovascular disease,” Baldwin said. “There are lifestyle and other factors that you develop young in life that contribute to developing cardiovascular disease throughout your lifespan.”
PREVENTIVE MEASURES
Baldwin noted that women are less likely than men to receive CPR from bystanders because their symptoms often differ from what people traditionally associate with heart attacks.
She encourages women to schedule regular visits with their primary care physicians and to make heart health part of routine medical conversations.
Other preventive steps that can help lower risk and protect long-term health include maintaining a healthy diet, nutrition and exercise.
“People aren’t treated as quickly as they can be, which leads to lower survival rate in women who do have a heart attack because CPR is not initiated fast,” Baldwin said. “Women can talk with their friends and family about family history or contributing factors that they may not know about.”
HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED
“The American Heart Association has great resources on their website and you can also look to sign up for upcoming research studies,” Baldwin suggested. “It’s really important that we’re not afraid to share our stories. A lot of times we keep these things private because we feel like we did something wrong or we could have prevented it, but we didn’t. So it’s also about connecting with people.”
GOALS FOR 2026 GO RED FOR WOMEN CAMPAIGN
As chair of the campaign, Baldwin plans to connect with colleagues in the medical industry and inform them about CVD so they can share with their own communities. She acknowledged potential challenges in this journey, including reduced research funding and difficulty accessing health care, but said increased attention could lead to change.
“One of the things the American Heart Association does is help leaders connect with partners in our community to improve access to care and essential resources,” Baldwin said. “During the past year, research funding was cut heavily by the federal government and we know that there are efforts to kind of shift money away from research for women. So just bringing awareness to that fact as well.”
More information about the 2026 Go Red for Women campaign is available through the American Heart Association.
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