Encouraging heart health on National Wear Red Day

Friday, February 4 is National Wear Red Day. It's all about raising awareness of heart health.

Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women, according to the American Heart Association.

For suburban mom Deana Greco, it's a personal cause. She was born with a congenital heart defect and had surgery as a baby. When she was an adult, she decided she wanted to give birth and her doctors warned her it could only happen once.

"On the day I was supposed to go home after giving birth to my son, in 2010, I knew something wasn't right," said Greco. "In fact my heart rate was going down."

Nine days later she had an implantable defibrillator put in.

Greco is a patient at the Midwest Cardiovascular Institute, which shared the following tips to keep your heart healthy:

• Eat foods low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and salt
• Exercise 30 minutes/day, 5x/week
• Quit smoking & limit alcohol to 1 drink/day
• Use healthy coping skills to lower stress
• See a cardiologist regularly to manage your risk