MONROE, La. (KNOE 8 News) - If you were seeing red a little more than normal this Friday, your eyes were not playing tricks on you.
National "Go Red" day, is a day meant to bring awareness to the dangers of heart disease in women.
In Louisiana 17 women die from heart disease and stroke every day.
Heart attack survivor, Leona Bennett says, "I've actually had two and a half heart attacks."
Bennett says she was healthy until her first heart attack in 2009.
She says, "they took me to the emergency room, and they said yeah you're having a heart attack. They rushed me in and found out I had a 100% blockage in my main artery. They put a stint in, and I reshaped my life from there."
Friday, St. Francis held a lunch and learn, to educate women like Bennett on the dangers of heart disease.
They passed around defibrillators to show women how they work, and also answered questions on how to prevent heart disease.
The chair of the Northeast Louisiana's "Go Red" event, Kathy Roberts, says "eating a healthier lower fat diet, not smoking, trying to stay at a healthy weight, getting our exercise, and getting blood pressure under control would be extremely important."
Roberts says women experience more vague symptoms.
She says, "more flu like symptoms sometimes, shortness of breath, just generalized weakness that they can't explain. Those type of things that make it sometimes a little more difficult for women."
Now, Bennett is speaking to women who might not take their symptoms seriously like she did.
She says, "please don't ignore it, I almost didn't survive my first heart attack with 100% blockage."
Bennett says life isn't going to get out of your way because you have a heart attack; so do everything you can to protect yourself.
Heart disease is the number one killer of all women.
