FRANKLYWNOW - Heart Attack Survivor Celebrates National Wear Red Day

Friday people across the nation wore red to raise awareness about the number one killer of women in the United States, heart disease.

Heart attack survivor Megan Farmer tells us why raising heart disease awareness is so important.

At 34 Megan Farmer says heart disease was far from her mind until she began experiencing a series of odd symptoms.

"I said you know, these are the symptoms of having a heart attack. We kind of looked at each other, kind of chuckled and said 'Nah, no way,'" says Megan's Husband Ryan.

When Megan went to the hospital later that day she learned that she was having a heart attack.

"In my mind it wasn't a possibility," says Megan.

According to Megan's doctor, Hisham Kashou, heart disease doesn't discriminate based on age or ethnicity.

"In this country there's 43 million women with heart disease not counting men. 1 in 3 white american women have heart disease and 1 in 2 black women have cardiovascular," says Dr. Hisham Kashou.

Dr. Kashou says that many women like Megan don't recognize heart attack symptoms because they differ from the commonly known symptoms seen in men.

"They usually have nausea, abdominal discomfort, weakness, fatigue, sometimes left arm discomfort and sometimes back pain but their symptoms are certainly different than men," says Dr. Kashou.

Megan says it's critical to take preventative measures and teach your kids heart healthy habits.

"My girls are very well educated in vegetables and fruit and exercising and having healthy bodies," says Megan.

Most importantly she says to listen to your body for any of the potential symptoms, if she hadn't she says she might not be here.

"There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about my heart. I think about it every single day. I'm very thankful to be here," says Farmer.