At 75 years old and with a pacemaker in his chest, Lilian De Jonge’s father still has enough energy to ride his bicycle daily.”Thanks to research for heart disease, he is alive and doing very well,” De Jonge said. “He might not be around if it wouldn’t have been for all this research.”Two years ago, De Jonge’s father didn’t show any symptoms of heart disease — he even felt fine at check-up appointments. But eventually his fatigue and pain grew worse, culminating in a heart attack.De Jonge, Pennington Biomedical Research Center Metabolic Core director, said her father arrived at the hospital emergency room with chest pains and went into cardiac arrest, nearly dying. But the doctors were able to resuscitate him in time.Like De Jonge’s father, more than one million Americans will have a coronary attack this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.And in Louisiana, the silent killer has taken the lives of more women than men.”We tend to think of heart disease as a men’s issue, but, unfortunately, more women die of cardiovascular disease than the next five causes of death combined, including all forms of cancer,” Louisiana’s first lady Supriya Jindal said in a news release.The first lady promotes February as American Heart Month and continues to work with the Louisiana Pediatric Cardiology Foundation and the American Heart Association’s “Go Red for Women” campaign.This month the Governor’s Mansion will join buildings and monuments around the country that will be lit red every night to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease.Since “Go Red for Women” launched in 2004, landmarks across the nation, including the Ben Franklin Bridge, Graceland, the Empire State Building, the Space Needle in Seattle and the Puerto Rico Capitol have turned red during February.The mansion’s lighting is one of many activities throughout Baton Rouge to encourage heart- healthy lifestyles this month. Free public health screenings will be held by Ochsner Health System on Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn Select on Constitution Avenue. Ochsner will conduct blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol testing.”Unfortunately, heart disease doesn’t only affect people at a certain age,” said Wendee Bloom, American Heart Association communications director. “We target women, but lots of men come too. It’s open to the public, so anyone can come.”Julie Hupperich, Student Health Center associate director, said 15 to 20 percent of students who come in for nutrition counseling have some risk factors for heart disease, whether it’s elevated lipids or high blood pressure.”We do see students who have elevated cholesterol and have some early signs of heart disease,” Hupperich said. “But in this population, it’s not a primary concern for students. They’re more concerned with weight gain than cardiovascular disease.”Hupperich said students usually perceive heart disease as an “older person’s” disease.”They think of heart disease as something that develops in someone who is 50 or 60 years old,” she said. “Typically, it tends to be among older people, but there are certainly college students who have early signs.”The most common form of heart disease in young women is high blood pressure, according to the American Heart Association. About 5.8 percent of women ages 20-34 have high blood pressure.Learning how to shop for low-fat foods and making healthy choices when dining out, even at fast-food restaurants, is important, Hupperich said.”The college age is when you form habits that will stick with you for the rest of your life,” she said. “It’s the perfect age to make healthy choices related to heart health.”The Capital Area “Go Red for Women” luncheon and fashion show will also be held Thursday. The ticketed heart-healthy luncheon program aims to educate women about cardiovascular disease, risk factors and how to prevent the disease.Local women will share their survival stories followed by a welcome from Supria Jindal. The luncheon will close with a fashion show.”I encourage men and women to not only listen to their bodies, but to also prioritize proactive measures such as exercising and eating healthy,” Jindal said in the release. “By establishing healthy habits for our families, our children will also carry this heart healthy behavior into adulthood.”—-Contact Leslie Presnall at [email protected]