01/30/2012 10:43 AM

Healthy Carolina: Go Red for Women, home births, lower blood pressure with tea

By: Claudine Chalfant

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Valentine's Day is coming up, but that's not exactly why you'll see tons of red this week. The Go Red for Women campaign is in full swing and Friday, make sure you dress up in your favorite shade of red.

The American Heart Association reports 90 percent of women have at least one risk factor for developing heart disease. But a more encouraging statistic is that 80 percent of heart disease is preventable. With the Go Red program, the AHA wants to educate women, plus give them the tools and knowledge necessary to know what the risk factors are and how to prevent it.

One in three women will die from heart disease, but those who are involved with Go Red are more likely to take action.

"I think the latest statistic is that 91 percent of women who are involved with Go Red will visit their doctor yearly, which the national average is around 70 some percent," said Chrissy Malinky, the development director with AHA. "So at least we're showing that women who truly engage in this movement make the action steps which is really want we want."

The AHA is always in need of donation. For every dollar you donate, $1.80 comes back to the local American Heart Association, not to another region across the country.

Staying with news about women, more mothers are choosing to have their babies at home.

The number of home births in the United States jumped by 29 percent from 2004 to 2009, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Home births are still rare and account for less than one-percent of all deliveries. Home births cost about one-third less than hospital births. They're also more common with women who already had at least one child.

Lastly, if you need to lower your blood pressure, a new study suggests drinking black tea. A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found blood pressure of people who drank three cups of black tea a day for six months decreased compared to those who drank a caffeinated placebo with no tea. The study tested men and women between ages 35 to 75.

Experts say drinking tea is not a substitute for blood pressure-lowering medication, but researchers say the findings show tea could still provide a benefit.