Children and adults at the "Let's Dance Savannah: Don't Miss a Beat!" event  dance to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office on Women's Health's "Make the Call" song, which promotes heart attack awareness in a catchy tune that lists the seven most prevalent symptoms of a heart attack for women.

In television shows or on the big screen, actors simulate having a heart attack by clutching their chests and falling to the ground in a very dramatic fashion. And while chest pain and pressure is a sign of a heart attack, other less commonly known symptoms can also signal the onset of heart distress, particularly in women. But, according to a 2009 American Heart Association survey, few women were aware of the most common heart attack symptoms and only half of women indicated they would call 9-1-1 if they thought they were having a heart attack. The Chatham County Health Department and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office on Women's Health found a creative way to try and change that in southeast Georgia.
 

"Make the Call. Don't Miss a Beat." is a campaign by the Office on Women's Health to educate women about heart attacks. "Let's Dance, Savannah!" is a Chatham County Health Department initiative to encourage dancing as a legitimate form of exercise and a way to prevent heart disease. Put them together and you get two fun-filled, educational events called "Let's Dance, Savannah: Don't Miss a Beat!"    

The dance classes offered at "Let's Dance, Savannah: Don't Miss a Beat!" range in styles from ballet to African dance to hip-hop to line dancing. Attendees are given literature outlining the seven most common symptoms of a heart attack in women and are urged to call 9-1-1 if they experience one or more of those symptoms which include chest pain, discomfort, pressure or squeezing, shortness of breath, nausea, light-headedness or sudden dizziness; unusual upper body pain or discomfort in one or both arms, back, shoulder, neck, jaw, or upper part of the stomach; unusual fatigue or breaking out in a cold sweat.  

"Women don't usually think about nausea or feelings of indigestion as signs of a heart attack but the fact is that they very well could be," said Gibson. "The Office on Women's Health encourages women with any symptoms of a heart attack to seek treatment immediately. An hour could mean the difference between life and death."  

Local partners for the events included the Community Cardiovascular Council, the Armstrong Atlantic State University Health Science Department, and CVS. For more information on the national "Make the Call. Don't Miss a Beat." campaign, visit www.womenshealth.gov/heartattack.  

-Story by Sally Silbermann, Risk Communicator and Public Information Officer, Coastal Health District (District 9-1)