Sisters woman wants to spread heart-healthy news

One Sisters resident wants to spread the word: Heart disease is the number-one killer of women. Mary Giraudo was inspired to raise awareness at a reception where First Lady Laura Bush spoke about the disease.

Giraudo felt the First Lady’s message personally since her mother died of a heart attack at age 50.

“Children should not be lost without a mother at a young age,” said Giraudo. She is planning to learn more about heart disease and reach out to women in Deschutes County.

Giraudo was visiting friends in Washington, D.C. and attended the May 12 reception at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The First Lady is the national ambassador for the Heart Truth campaign sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Heart Truth is a national awareness campaign especially aimed at women between the ages of 40 and 60 when the risk of heart disease starts to increase. One main message is to tell women to visit their doctor, find out their risk, and take action to lower it.

“Even today, women are not aware of what they should and shouldn’t do,” she said.

Women can reduce their risk by not smoking, eating right to keep high blood pressure and cholesterol down, being physically active and aiming for a healthy weight.

Giraudo, who turns 62 this month, said she’s inspired to be more health conscious in her own life. As an avid sportswoman, she’s working to carve out more time for tennis and other activities from her work as the office director at the Church of St. Edward the Martyr in Sisters.

Giraudo said the reception was “very exciting” since it included both the First Lady and Mrs. Nancy Reagan.

“I was so thrilled to be in the presence of those two women,” she said.

Laura Bush and six former First Ladies support The Heart Truth campaign. The reception featured the unveiling of the First Ladies Red Dress Collection. The campaign is using the red dress as a national symbol for women and heart disease. The collection includes red gowns and suits worn by Mrs. Laura Bush, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mrs. Barbara Bush, Mrs. Nancy Reagan, Mrs. Rosalynn Carter, Mrs. Betty Ford, and Mrs. Claudia (Lady Bird) Johnson.

Attendees were each given a red dress pin and lots of literature about heart disease. In keeping with the message, the reception featured healthy fruit and tiny muffins.

Although the First Lady spoke on a serious topic, Giraudo said her humor charmed the crowd. Giraudo paraphrased the First Lady as saying, “If my mother-in-law can swim one mile a day, I can do 35 minutes of exercise.”

The event Giraudo attended was recently shown on C-SPAN. As part of her plan to carry the heart healthy message, Giraudo wants to show a copy of the program at her church.

Giraudo said the healthy message of the event was inspirational.

“I cherish each day and year.”

More information about the campaign can be found at http://www.hearttruth.gov.