By Mark Dagostino
Matters of the heart were front and center at the seventh annual Woman's Day Red Dress Awards in Manhattan Wednesday night — and no, that has nothing to do with Valentine's Day. The awards commemorate American Heart Month by honoring women who have made significant contributions to the fight against heart disease, the number one killer of women in the United States.
If that sounds like a somber matter, the gathering at the chic Time Warner Center was anything but.
From a Dancing With The Stars performance, to a rousing mini-concert by Mary J. Blige, to the comedic stylings of emcee Sherri Shepherd (who, in a nod to Sarah Palin's Hand-o-Prompter moment, joked about writing a few notes on her palm), the Red Dress Awards turned into a celebration of female empowerment.
"I'm thrilled to see so many ravishing women in their stylish red dresses!" Project Runway fashion guru Tim Gunn said from the stage, looking out over the sea of women in a range of fiery styles. "It's quite an incredible sight tonight."
The event, which benefitted the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, honored Suzanne Haynes, MD, leader of the Office on Women's Health Cardiovascular Team; Kathy Kastan, the past president of the board of directors of WomenHeart who underwent bypass surgery at age 42; Julia Kauffman, head of The Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation, which established the Muriel I. Kauffman Women's Heart Center in Kansas City, the first of its kind in the U.S. to focus on heart disease in women; and Karol Watson, MD, a practicing cardiologist and assistant professor of medicine in UCLA's Division of Cardiology.
"As heart disease continues to be the number one killer of women," said Elizabeth Mayhew, vice president and editor-in-chief of Woman's Day, "Woman's Day remains committed to making women aware of their risk and educating them on how to be heart-healthy. This year's Red Dress Awards' honorees continue our annual tradition in recognizing women who have made a difference in battling the disease. All four women are true inspirations, exemplifying the spirit of the magazine and its readers."
"I got involved with Women's Heart Health Initiative when they first started the Heart Truth," Seymour tells Tonic. "I nearly died of preeclampsia, which is a heart disease, when I had the twins. I have to deal with heart disease and heart medication, and I've openly talked about it. So when they asked me [to be here] I just happened to be in New York, and it was one of those things that was meant to be, I think."
Seymour, like the event itself, tries to spotlight the prevelance of heart disease in women, and reminds us of some startling statistics. Despite the massive awareness of breast cancer, she notes, "women are ten times more likely to die from heart disease than all of the cancers. And it's a silent killer. It hits minorities the most, and people with diabetes and bad eating habits. It's huge."
The biggest thing people can do to get involved is to take care of themselves. "First of all, you need to get checked out by your doctor and find out if you have it," Seymour says. "You have to share with your friends that this is really important. You have to take it seriously -- especially if you have kids and you want to live to see them. If that's the case, then it's not for you, it's for them."
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