WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
More than 42 million American women live with or are at risk for heart
disease, and obesity is a leading risk factor threatening women’s heart
health. WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease,
and Nutrisystem®, a leading provider of weight management programs and
services, have partnered to set a dramatic example by challenging eight
inspiring WomenHeart Champions to successfully become Red
Dress Ready by February 5 – National Wear Red Day. Through the
partnership, Nutrisystem provided the eight women with complimentary
Nutrisystem weight loss programs, including: portion controlled meals,
nutritional counseling, weight loss support and education. Additionally,
Nutrisystem is taking the lead to provide $100,000 in support consisting
of a corporate gift, awareness campaigns and in-kind donations for
WomenHeart, the nation’s only patient-centered advocacy organization
solely dedicated to promoting women’s heart health, and providing
education, advocacy and support to women living with heart disease.
“Heart disease is the leading cause of death in American women, a
disease so pervasive that it touches millions of families and yet even a
small weight loss can help reduce a women’s risk for heart disease. By
partnering with WomenHeart, we have identified these eight special women
who serve as an inspiration by overcoming their challenges to lose
weight and to live a heart healthier lifestyle. There is no one more
deserving to celebrate and wear a beautiful red dress this February than
these eight women,” said Joe Redling, Chairman and CEO of Nutrisystem,
Inc.
“Obesity is a leading risk factor for heart disease and 61% of American
women are overweight or obese. These eight WomenHeart Champions
demonstrate that women can take charge of their heart health by managing
their weight and reducing their risk for heart disease,” said Lisa M.
Tate, CEO of WomenHeart.
WomenHeart Champions are women living with heart disease who are
trained at WomenHeart’s annual Science & Leadership Symposium at Mayo
Clinic to become community educators, advocates, support network leaders
and national spokespersons in the effort to raise awareness about heart
disease as the leading cause of death in women. The eight WomenHeart
Champions who began the seven-month lifestyle challenge in July 2009
are all women who have struggled with weight loss as part of their quest
to take control of their heart health. They each made the commitment to
fight obesity and set a positive example for women all over the country.
Here are their stories:
-
Evan McCabe, 53, Santa Barbara, CA – Spending years educating
and motivating patients and their families about the importance of
lifestyle changes as a Cardiology Registered Nurse and professor, Evan
knew that being 40 pounds overweight was not good for her heart, as
she states, “I was in my own form of denial until I ended up in the
emergency room with severe chest pain from heart disease!” With her
weight loss more than 40 pounds to date, Evan has become an even more
ardent advocate for women’s heart health.
-
Natasha Fleishman, 41, Lake Elmo, MN – At just 33 years old,
with no prior symptoms, or family history of heart disease, Natasha
suddenly experienced cardiac arrest in 2002 at her office. Following
her recovery and after regaining her health, several stressful events
in her life caused her to gain weight. With her two young sons as her
motivation, Natasha is thrilled to now be in charge of her heart
health by losing 36 pounds for her “Red Dress” moment.
-
Eileen Drezcka, 46, Sheboygan, WI – After surviving cancer,
Eileen’s strength was tested again when she suffered heart failure.
Initially misdiagnosed with pneumonia, Eileen was determined to
overcome her heart failure for her wedding day last June. In 22 weeks,
she met her goal of losing 21 pounds and is ecstatic to get into her
beautiful red dress to help build awareness about heart health.
-
Denise Sullivan, 49, Old Town, ME – Working in the medical
field for years and having lost her father at a young age to heart
disease; Denise was very aware of the signs of heart disease. But like
so many, she ignored them. She survived her quadruple bypass surgery
but battled with weight gain and diabetes for years afterwards. Denise
decided it was time to Get Red Dress Ready to learn how to lose
weight, eat healthy and save her heart. She is doing just that at a 30
plus pound weight loss to date!
-
Jana Belzer, 47, Kansas City, MO – Suffering a heart attack on
vacation, Jana needed emergency open heart surgery and struggled with
recovery from the experience and subsequent weight gain. Today, Jana
has lost more than 30 pounds and is proud to be taking back control of
her heart health while Getting Red Dress Ready.
-
Frances Pena, 45, Miami, FL – As a mother, wife, daughter,
sister, aunt and friend, Frances realized she was caring for everyone
but herself after her heart attack occurred and found herself gaining
weight. Now, Frances has lost 25 pounds for herself, and feels
beautiful and healthy again.
-
Renee Thornton, 47, Hueytown, AL – After open heart surgery and
six by-passes, Renee found herself 30 pounds heavier and has struggled
with losing the weight. With her husband as her support who is also
losing several pounds by default, Renee is eating healthy and excited
to have lost 22 pounds to date.
-
Connie Newlon, 52, Ypsilanti, MI – In an effort to take charge
of her heart health, recover from quadruple bypass surgery, and combat
her on-going struggle with diabetes, Connie has lost more than 33
pounds. For her, Getting Red Dress Ready signifies “a renewed
life and awareness of heart disease.”
“Through these eight remarkable women, WomenHeart and Nutrisystem are
providing inspiration to women across the country to overcome their
struggles with weight and lead healthy lives,” said Tate. “For two
years, Nutrisystem has helped WomenHeart lay the groundwork to make
programs like the Getting Red Dress Ready challenge possible, and
we are grateful for their tremendous support.”
The Getting Red Dress Ready challenge focuses on helping women
trim away excess body fat; one of the leading heart disease risk factors
in women. Nutrisystem has provided meals and nutritional counseling to
each participant throughout the entire life-changing journey.
Participants can lose weight and live healthier by losing up to 10
pounds a month on the Nutrisystem program. Losing weight places a
premium on heart health. The Nutrisystem program is low in fat,
cholesterol, saturated fats, and sodium.
To learn more about the Getting Red Dress Ready campaign, visit www.RedDressReady.com.
About WomenHeart: The National
Coalition for Women with Heart Disease
WomenHeart is the only national, patient advocacy organization serving
the 42 million American women living with or at risk for heart disease –
the leading cause of death in women. WomenHeart is solely devoted to
advancing women’s heart health through advocacy, community education and
is the nation’s only patient support network for women living with heart
disease. WomenHeart is both a coalition and a community of thousands of
members nationwide, including WomenHeart patients and their families,
physicians, and health advocates, all committed to helping women live
longer, healthier lives. To learn more, visit www.womenheart.org.
About Nutrisystem, Inc.
Nutrisystem, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTRI) is a leading provider of weight
management products and services. Nutrisystem is sold direct to the
consumer through nutrisystem.com, by phone, and at select retailers, for
convenient home delivery. The Company offers proven nutritionally
balanced weight loss programs
designed for women, men, and seniors, as well as the clinically tested
Nutrisystem D plan, designed to help people with type 2 diabetes who
want to lose weight. The
Nutrisystem program is based on 35 years of nutrition research and the
science of the low glycemic index, and offers a variety of great
tasting, satisfying high-fiber, heart healthy, good carbohydrate
meals that contain zero trans fats. Nutrisystem was named the “Best
Value” of the six most popular commercial diet programs by SmartMoney magazine
in January, 2010. The program has no membership fees and provides 24/7
weight management support by trained weight loss coaches and online
weight management tools free of charge. In 2009 Nutrisystem was selected
as the #1 overall online retailer in the Food and Drug category and #46
out of the top 500 online retailers overall by Internet Retailer
Magazine. Nutrisystem also proudly supports the American Diabetes
Association in its Movement to Stop Diabetes. For more information or to
become a customer visit http://www.nutrisystem.com
or call 1-800-435-4074.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6163686&lang=en
