Shades of Red event is Friday

Friday, January 28, 2011
Shades of Red, a fashion show to benefit Putnam County Hospital's Cardiac Rehabilitation Department, is set for Friday. Pictured from left are PCH exercise specialist Jennifer Dobson, marketing assistant Sarah Thomas, marketing director Jennifer Bedwell and registered nurses Kim Carter and Denise Stepro.

GREENCASTLE -- An evening of fun and fashion is planned for Friday -- all in the name of women's heart health awareness.

Shades of Red, a fashion show sponsored by the Putnam County Cardiac Rehabilitation Department and Martin's Emporium, will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Area 30 Career Center in Greencastle.

The fashion show will feature red formal dresses from Martin's Emporium, modeled by local women and girls. The event is in its second year.

"It's basically a fashion show to raise awareness," said Sarah Thomas, PCH marketing assistant. "The red dress is the national symbol for women's heart disease awareness."

The show has been moved to a larger venue this year to accommodate more attendees. All proceeds will benefit the Putnam County Hospital Cardiac Rehabilitation Department.

"All the money stays local," Thomas said.

PCH Cardiac Rehabilitation registered nurse Kim Carter said she is hoping this year's event is even more successful than last year's.

"It's just a fun thing," she said.

Traditionally, heart disease has been thought of as something that mainly affects men.

"A lot of the symptoms are different for women than they are for men," said Jennifer Dobson, an exercise specialist at the PCH Cardiac Rehabilitation Department. "Women sometimes don't get the crushing chest pain. Instead, they might get a slight backache."

Denise Stepro, a registered nurse in the department, agreed.

"The symptoms can be a lot more vague," she said.

Dobson and Stepro said more women come through the cardiac rehabilitation department than in the past.

"People are more aware of this as a women's issue," Stepro said. "Women used to be put off if they thought they were having problems with their hearts. Health professionals as a whole, I think, are more aware."

Two phases of cardiac rehabilitation are available at PCH. Phase II is monitored exercising, which patients are advised to participate in after a cardiac event, and Phase III is conditioning exercises, which patients can opt for and pay for privately.

"Seeing how they improve is amazing," said Stepro. "At the beginning, they may only be able to tolerate three or minutes of exercise. At the end, they can do 45 minutes."

Dobson said patients also benefit from being with others who have been through the same health trials they have.

"They can exercise with other patients," she said.

Free blood pressure screenings will also be available at Shades of Red.

Tickets are $5 at the door, or can be purchased in advance at the PCH Gift Shop for $4 each. Questions can be directed to 655-2580, 655-2583, Ext. 2 or info@pchosp.org.

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  • Was the date for this Friday, January 28, or is it Friday, February 4? You'd never know by the way this article is written. If it was yesterday, I bet a lot of people missed it because it wasn't announced soon enough to give people time to plan for it.

    -- Posted by cll on Sat, Jan 29, 2011, at 12:13 AM
  • This is Saturdays paper, so I would guess that it is being held on February 4th.

    -- Posted by ladycubs on Sat, Jan 29, 2011, at 12:39 AM
  • Actually, at the start of the article is the date January 28 which makes it Friday.

    -- Posted by BGreader on Sat, Jan 29, 2011, at 9:53 AM
  • During America's pre-1960s racism, society focused almost exclusively on improving life for whites, even though blacks as a group were far worse off.

    Similar to this component of racism is today's new sexism:

    When it comes to heart disease (and to the other 14 leading causes of death), society has become almost exclusively focused on women, even though men as a group, especially black men, are far more vulnerable to the disease in every age bracket. Even thousands of men, including many doctors, take part in the fight against women's heart disease but not against men's. How many women campaign against the disease in the group that is actually more at risk? How many reports, commentaries, and editorials on women's heart disease speak as if men literally did not exist?

    That's the new sexism. What would you call it if women developed heart disease about ten years sooner than men, died of it at a higher rate at every age, and everyone focused on men's heart disease?

    See: "Women's Advocates Wrong About Why More Women Than Men Die of Heart Disease" at http://tinyurl.com/pkkajz and "Health Disparites Persist for Men, and Doctors Ask Why" at http://tinyurl.com/ygqdlfd

    -- Posted by Male Matters on Sat, Jan 29, 2011, at 1:49 PM
  • The event is Friday, February 4th. If school is canceled or dismissed early, the event will be moved to Friday, February 11th.

    -- Posted by teacherswife on Mon, Jan 31, 2011, at 8:27 AM
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