The University of New Haven is encouraging people to “Go Red for Women,” a campaign that is being sponsored by the American Heart Association.

They are asking people to wear red on Feb. 5, and all Fridays in February, to support awareness of Heart Disease in women.

The campaign not only requests that you wear red to support women with heart disease but also invites people from all across the country to speak up and learn the facts about heart disease, but one fact being “know your numbers,” in regards to your blood pressure.

Health Services’ Paula Cappuccia shares that the healthy numbers you are encouraged to know are “a total cholesterol below 200 and blood pressure of 120/70,” though she does advise that blood pressure can vary from patient to patient.

In partnership with this campaign, UNH’s Health Services is encouraging people to come in to Health Services to have their blood pressure taken so that they will “know their numbers.”

The university also offers CPR/Automated External Defibrillators (AED) certification training classes. Future trainings times will be sent to your UNH emails. The trainings include hands on sections, lessons about signs and symptoms, and how to hook up and use an AED.

UNH is striving to become one of the first to be titled a “Heartsafe Campus” in Connecticut by adding AED’s to campus buildings. Cappuccia said “our goal is to have one machine in each building.” Fire Marshall Chris Reed, the chairman of the “Heartsafe” committee, says that the AEDs must be “within three minute walk,” meaning there and back from any heart emergency that may arise on campus.

The university is also working on achieving other criteria, including having 10 percent of all faculty, staff, and student employees CPR/ AED certified, and having a written Emergency Action Plan.

Anyone who has questions regarding UNH’s proactive movement towards becoming a state certified HeartSafe campus can contact the UNH Fire Marshall Chris Reed, the chairman of the HeartSafe Committee, at [email protected].