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" The Woman&amp;#039;s Day annual red dress awards spotlight those who are leading the charge to make heart health in women a top priority. Meet this year&amp;#039;s amazing honorees.   Karol Watson, MD The many prestigious positions Dr. Watson holds keep her in the thick of heart disease awareness and prevention. She&amp;#039;s an assistant professor of medicine in UCLA&amp;#039;s Division of Cardiology, on the executive committee for the UCLA Fellowship Program in Cardiovascular Diseases, codirector of UCLA&amp;#039;s Program in Preventive Cardiology, director of its Center for Cholesterol and Hypertension Management, and a practicing cardiologist.  I got involved with women&amp;#039;s heart health because\u2026 I saw heart disease devastate many families\u2014including my own\u2014despite the fact that treatment, and even more important, prevention, is so effective. I became almost obsessed with getting this message out and helping to avoid countless tragedies. My &amp;quot;aha moment&amp;quot; came when\u2026 My then-59-year-old robust, healthy father had a sudden heart attack and my world was rocked. Heart disease can strike ruthlessly and unexpectedly, and having a daughter in medical school and access to good health care wasn&amp;#039;t enough to protect him. That&amp;#039;s why it&amp;#039;s crucial to educate everyone about healthy lifestyle habits as well as heart disease warning signs.   Suzanne Haynes, PhD  For the past five years, Dr. Haynes has led the Office on Women&amp;#039;s Health Cardiovascular Team, which funds the Heart Truth Champions program as well as Heart Truth events across the nation. She initiated the Heart Truth Professional Education Program, which educates physicians about how to spot heart disease symptoms in women.  My proudest heart health moment was\u2026 A week after I gave a talk on heart health, an audience member spotted heart attack signs in her husband. Another woman had intense pain in her wrist (I had told them that heart attack pain can occur in odd places), so she went to the hospital and was treated for a heart attack. Two lives were saved from one talk. Wow! When I learned that I won a Red Dress Award... I ran into my boss&amp;#039;s office [Dr. Wanda Jones, a prior winner] and gave her a big hug.   Kathy Kastan Kastan is the past president of the board of directors of WomenHeart, a national organization aimed at preventing heart disease in women and reducing death and disability among women living with heart disease. Also a national spokeswoman for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute&amp;#039;s Heart Truth Campaign, she has a unique perspective: She herself survived bypass surgery at age 42.  One thing I wish women knew is\u2026 That it&amp;#039;s worth making time to protect our heart health. Most women are so focused on taking care of kids, parents, etc., that they tend to forget about themselves. But if we become ill, we won&amp;#039;t be there for those we love anyway. It&amp;#039;s critical that we put our needs closer to the top of our lists. My favorite heart-healthy food is\u2026 Dark chocolate! Even a small bite seems like a total indulgence, and it releases endorphins, which improve your mood and protect your heart.   Julia Kauffman  The Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation, which Julia heads, established the Muriel I. Kauffman Women&amp;#039;s Heart Center in Kansas City, the first of its kind in the U.S. to focus on heart disease in women. The foundation&amp;#039;s continual support of the Center has enabled it to help spread awareness of how heart disease affects women and fund groundbreaking research while providing top-notch cardiac care. To this end, Kauffman recently created the Julia Irene Kauffman Endowed Chair for Women&amp;#039;s Cardiovascular Health.  Women need to realize that\u2026 It&amp;#039;s not only men who have heart attacks! It&amp;#039;s crucial for all women to keep their heart healthy through eating right and exercising. My favorite heart-healthy habits\u2026 Gardening, playing golf, skiing and eating rhubarb. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/a1281/red-dress-award-winners-103014/>