Nearly 100 Dutch buildings turn red on Dress Red Day: Monday, September 29th. On this day – also World Heart Day – the Dutch Heart Foundation (Hartstichting) draws attention to cardiovascular disease in women.
Buildings and locations such as the Van Nelle factory, Nemo Science Museum and Euromast are lit up in red on Monday evening.
This year, hospitals, museums, and theaters across the country are once again joining Dress Red Day, supporting the Heart Foundation’s goal of increasing research into cardiovascular disease in women.
Missed too often
Research is urgently needed because cardiovascular disease is still too often missed in women. Every day, 53 women die from cardiovascular disease. Moreover, there are too few reliable tests and treatments for conditions that are more common in women.
Heart attack in young women
One such condition is SCAD (Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection): a tear in the wall of a coronary artery, which can lead to a heart attack in young women.
This year, on Dress Red Day, the Dutch Heart Foundation is drawing special attention to SCAD: an under-researched and unknown cause of heart attacks in young women. Scientists don’t know exactly what causes SCAD or what the most effective treatment is. The Dutch Heart Foundation wants to change that. By investing in two new studies, scientists can better map the causes and improve detection and treatment.
This is how the Dutch Heart Foundation works to increase knowledge and improve care and the future of SCAD patients.
Take action!
“Together with the Dutch Heart Foundation, we want to raise awareness of women’s hearts. With Dress Red Day and The Women’s Heart Show, we’re literally putting knowledge about the female body and prevention in the spotlight,” says Hillechien Steenbruggen, programmer at Luxor Theater Rotterdam.
Dress red on September 29
Besides the red-colored buildings, many Dutch people dress in red on this day to raise awareness of cardiovascular disease in women. They shared this widely on social media in previous years, and the Dutch Heart Foundation expects many posts and photos this year as well.
For the list of participating buildings, see www.hartstichting.nl/nieuws .
Featured photo: Annette Roigaards (Zalmhaven Tower, 2024).