Metro and American Heart Association ‘Go Red for Women’ on Valentine’s Day

Metro joined the American Heart Association on Valentine’s Day February 14th, in celebrating heart health for women by urging Metro customers and others to participate in the Metrofit program, which encourages exercise as a path to good health. This is of particular importance to women since cardiovascular disease claims the lives of 500,000 women each year. That’s nearly one death every minute. As part of the American Heart Association’s ‘Go Red for Women’ campaign, Los Angeles’s city council president Pro Tempore took the Red line to Union Station for the 7:30 a.m. American Heart Association and Metro Press Conference in the East Portal.  The event included activities to educate morning commuters on how to live longer, stronger, heart healthy lives. Council Member Greuel demonstrated the ease and speed of blood pressure testing at the February 14th event.

I’m joining the American Heart Association and Metro in reminding people that a healthy exercise really helps your heart. Over half a million women each year develop cardiovascular health problems. Mass transit is a great way to get around Los Angeles, but it is also important to take the subway or the bus and you normally walk to those locations. We think that’s a great way to jump start your healthy living and healthy heart in Los Angeles.
Free health screenings were conducted by Saint Joseph’s Hospital of Orange County, the official south land sponsor of the ‘Go Red for Women’ campaign. Such screenings can help women and men determine their risk for heart disease and begin to take steps toward a healthier lifestyle. “In fact, exercise is one of the best women can protect themselves from heart disease,” said Claudia Keller, executive director of the American Heart Association. Women who don’t exercise have twice the chance of dying from heart disease than women who do, and women who smoke double their chances of dying from heart disease when compared to women who don’t smoke.

Exercise is also essential to people in their later years of life. Elderly women who haven’t been physically active experience more disability in their daily functioning than women who have been active. Studies have shown that the best way to make exercise happen is to incorporate into daily life.  There is a Metro stop within one mile of most homes in Los Angeles, so just walking to transit or just getting off a stop or two before your destination could easily add up to a mile or two of walking a day. It’s also a convenient and easy way to lose weight and save money. The Metro Fit program can encourage a schedule of moderate exercise that is easily adapted to any schedule. The goal is to walk 10,000 steps a day – about 5 miles, either by getting off before the intended destination or by walking to a stop beyond the one closes to that destination. Metro Fit also recommends using the stairs at Metro Rail Stations, discovering local attractions via Metro and on foot, and combining bicycling with public transit. To find out more about Metro Fit and to see a Metro Fit video and the Metro and American Heart Associations list of heart healthy exercise facts, go to www.metro.net/metrofit.