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" Credit: Corbis Hi guys, it&amp;#x27;s Sunny. I&amp;#x27;m back with my first guest blog already! So, do you remember that one of the my Aha moments was when I realized that my waist measurement (35.4 inches) was dangerously close to the 35-inch cut off that raises your risk of heart disease? Well, today is National Wear Red Day, which raises awareness about heart disease in women--and I did an interview with one of the cause&amp;#x27;s most dedicated champions Kathy Kastan. She&amp;#x27;s a bypass survivor, past president of the advocacy group WomenHeart and author of the book From the Heart: A Woman?s Guide to Living Well with Heart Disease. Q: You&amp;#x27;re a heart disease survivor--are you worried that the rising numbers of overweight and obese women in the U.S. will result in more and more cases of heart disease?Yes, I am greatly concerned but I truly feel that women can pro-actively combat the problem. No one is telling women to become tri-athletes or skinny to be heart healthy. If women re-frame how they think about exercise and diet and place that at the top of their priority list on a daily basis, then it will ultimately impact on their overall health. Women can start by exercising, making healthy food choices and creating time to relax (even 10 minutes has health benefits). Q: What lifestyle changes did you make after your bypass surgery?I learned a lot from a nutritionist and started reading more labels, stopped using margarine (I thought it was good for me) and really started using more of the super foods [like deeply colored vegetables and whole grains] in my diet. One thing I am convinced of is that stress and family history was a big part of my risk for heart disease. I had closed down my therapy practice, was moving from Baltimore to Memphis trying to sell one house and buy another, and around that time my Mom (who was my best friend) died at age 61 of a massive heart attack. After my bypass, I decided that I needed to really work on reducing the stress in my life by not allowing others to demand so much of me and to stop caving every time someone asked me to do something. Q: A big problem is that women don&amp;#x27;t believe they&amp;#x27;re at risk. What do you say to that?The campaigns of the NHLBI (Heart Truth), WomenHeart and the American Heart Association (Go Red for Women) have all raised awareness. In a very short time we have gone from 30% awareness that heart disease is the number one killer of women to 57% awareness. But unfortunately of those 57% of women, only 13% think that heart disease can happen to them! The earlier women start working on reducing their risks for heart disease the better. I implore women to know their risk factors, know their numbers and take those first few baby steps to improve their lifestyle habits, so that they don&amp;#x27;t become one of those terrible statistics. Hear, hear! I brought my gym shoes with me today and will be running (for my heart, and my half-marathon training) tonight! What are you gonna do for your heart? --Sunny BONUS! A yummy, heart-healthy dessert recipe!From Kathy Kastan&amp;#x27;s new book WomenHeart&amp;#x27;s ALL HEART Family Cookbook: CRAN-RASPBERRY ICE* 2 cups 100% cranberry-raspberry juice* 1/4 cup orange juice* 2 tablespoons sugar* 1 1/2 cups low-fat vanilla yogurt In a 9-inch square metal baking pan, whisk juices and sugar together until sugar dissolves. Freeze for 1 hour, stir to blend again, then freeze for four more hours, stirring every 45 minutes. To serve, scrape into 6 serving bowls and top each serving with 1/4 cup of the yogurt. Serves six. 113 calories, 1 gram fat"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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