News Release

Friday, November 5, 2010

First ladies join The Heart Truth to raise women’s heart disease awareness

NIH-supported campaign displays rare collection of red dresses at Bush Presidential Library and Museum.

The Heart Truth campaign to raise awareness about women's heart disease takes the spotlight at The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, where The Heart Truth Founding Ambassador Laura Bush recently unveiled the latest installment of the First Ladies Red Dress Collection. The exhibit features red dresses and suits on loan from the presidential libraries and personal collections of 14 of America’s first ladies—including a Jacqueline Kennedy dress that was last displayed in 2003. Other featured dresses and suits include those worn by Lou Hoover, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bess Truman, Mamie Eisenhower, Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, and Michelle Obama.

Laura Bush, with the support of Barbara Bush, officially opened the exhibit in the Ansary Gallery at the museum in College Station, Texas on Oct. 28. The exhibit also features 12 celebrity red dresses from The Heart Truth Red Dress Collection Fashion Show, held annually in New York City. The featured dresses were worn by Vanessa Williams, Valerie Bertinelli, Heidi Klum, Danica Patrick, Paula Zahn, Katie Couric, Robin Roberts, Allison Janney, Christie Brinkley, Lee Ann Womack, Felicity Huffman, and Dara Torres.

Through its partnership with the Texas A&M Health Science Center, the Bush Library will host regular health screenings and educational forums and provide visitors with information about heart-related issues such as high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and healthy lifestyles. The exhibit and events run through Aug. 2011.

The Red Dress, the centerpiece of The Heart Truth, alerts and inspires women to take action to protect their heart health.

The Heart Truth is a national awareness campaign for women about heart disease and is sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Through activities such as the Red Dress Collections, the campaign urges women to recognize their risks for heart disease and take action to reduce these risks.

Additional exhibit photos can be downloaded at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgebushlibrary.

The Heart Truth® and The Red Dress® are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Part of the National Institutes of Health, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) plans, conducts, and supports research related to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases, and sleep disorders. The Institute also administers national health education campaigns on women and heart disease, healthy weight for children, and other topics. NHLBI press releases, information on NHLBI’s role in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and other materials are available online at www.nhlbi.nih.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health^®

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