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Go Red Heart Match Connects Women in the Fight Against Heart Disease

As part of the Go Red For Women movement, the American Heart Association offers Go Red Heart Match, a free online program that connects women so they can support one another in the fight against heart disease.  The program is simple, but impactful. Women create online profiles, search for other women with similar heart disease experiences and Go Red For Women makes the connection so they can build a one-on-one, supportive relationship.  

In addition to emotional support, Go Red Heart Match is designed to help motivate and encourage adherence to care after diagnosis, including cardiac rehabilitation. Studies show that cardiac rehabilitation/secondary prevention (CR/SP) plays a vital role in the recovery process by restoring individuals to their optimal physiological, psychosocial, nutritional and functional status.

Recently, Circulation published data which show that CR/SP programs reduce cardiovascular risk and event rates, foster healthy behaviors, and promote active lifestyles. However, of eligible patients, only 14% to 35% of heart attack survivors and 31% of patients after coronary artery bypass surgery participate in CR/SP programs. The study also noted that female patients have lower participation rates than men and represent a specific high-risk group to be target for referral.

Go Red Heart Match provides the platform for women to connect with someone who truly understands their journey—the pain, the victories and everything in between.  It offers women the ability to support each other through a range of experiences, whether they are receiving a heart disease diagnosis, recovering from a heart attack or heart surgery, serving as a caregiver for a loved one with heart disease, or working to maintain their heart health.

— Source: American Heart Association