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Wear Red - On Friday for National Wear Red Day, Go Red for Women is encouraging women to wear red to raise awareness around heart disease, the number one killer of Black women in the U.S.  Here’s some important information on how this disease impacts us and what we can do to prevent it.  — Kellee Terrell(Photo: Go Red for Women Association)

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What Is Heart Disease? - Heart disease is more than having a heart attack. Heart disease defines a host of problems that affect the arteries, capillaries and veins, including coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, stroke and congenital heart disease, says WebMD.(Photo: GettyImages)

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The Silent Killer - We mostly look at heart disease as a man’s problem, but heart disease kills one woman every minute. And African-American women are two times as likely to suffer from a range of heart health problems and are more likely to die from it. Sometimes there are no symptoms: Sixty-four percent of women who die suddenly of coronary heart disease had no previous symptoms. (Photo: GettyImages)

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The Signs of a Heart Attack - Common symptoms include: Uncomfortable pressure or pain in the middle of your chest; pain that spreads to the shoulders, neck or arms; fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath. But women are more likely to have less severe symptoms like paleness, cold sweats, anxiety and unexplained fatigue and weakness.  (Photo: Rick Gershon/Getty Images)

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Why Us? - Almost everyone is at risk for heart disease, but women’s elevated risk stems from the fact that we are more likely to be overweight and obese; work out less and have high blood pressure and diabetes. The more risk factors you have, the greater your chance of developing heart disease. (Photo: REUTERS/Rick Wilking)

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Smoking and Heart Disease - People who smoke are two to four times more likely to develop heart disease. Smoking increases your risk because it decreases oxygen to the heart, increases blood pressure and heart rate, increases blood clotting and damages the arteries and blood vessels. (Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder)

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Access to Health Care Matters - Past studies have found that our poorer health outcomes transcend our behavior, according to Womenshealth.gov. It’s also about our lack of access to health care. Black women are less likely to receive the same tests and treatments as our white counterparts.  (Photo: Chris Hondros/Getty Images)

Photo By Chris Hondros/Getty Images

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Heart Disease Is Linked to Early Menopause  - In 2012, researchers from University of Alabama-Birmingham found that women who go through menopause early — before 46 — are twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke compared to women who hit menopause later.  (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

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Reducing Your Risk - The good news is that heart disease doesn’t have to be our destiny. Eating low fat and low calorie foods along with lean meats and more fresh veggies in addition to working out five days a week can slash your chances of developing heart disease. So can ditching the cigarettes and being easy on the salt. (Photo: GettyImages)  

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Educate Yourself  - The key to doing better is knowing better. That includes knowing your cholesterol and blood pressure levels. Learn more about heart disease here.  (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)