The National Heart Foundation of Australia congratulates the almost 17,000 Australian women who have today completed a free 10 week challenge to improve their heart health.

The Healthy Heart Challenge is part of the Heart Foundation Go Red for Women campaign, which raises awareness of heart disease as the number one killer of Australian women.

“Heart disease isn’t just a problem for men – it’s the number one killer of Australian women and kills almost four times as many women as breast cancer,” said Dr Lyn Roberts, National CEO of the Heart Foundation.

“Over the last 10 weeks thousands of women across Australia have taken steps to reduce their risk of heart disease by focusing on one specific goal.

“Half of the participants chose to ‘be active every day’ and more than a quarter picked ‘improve everyday nutrition’ with others electing to work on reducing blood pressure, cholesterol or giving up smoking.

“After 10 weeks, many of those changes will have turned into new healthy habits which will result in a healthier lifestyle long term,” Dr Roberts said.

All Healthy Heart Challenge participants were asked to complete a survey before they started the ten week program and will complete a follow-up survey this week to show their progress.

The results will be available in September when the Heart Foundation will also announce the winner of a stunning prize draw including gym memberships, cooking products and consultation sessions with a dietitian.

“The Heart Foundation would also like to thank the broader community and the media for their support of the Healthy Heart Challenge and the Go Red for Women campaign in 2011,” Dr Roberts continued.

“Each year Go Red for Women also relies heavily on the generosity of corporate sponsors, as we continue to educate women about their risk of heart disease, through local and national events, research, advocacy and surveys,” Dr Roberts said.

This year our Go Red for Women national sponsor family is made up of National Presenting Sponsor AMP Capital Shopping Centres; National Supporting Sponsors - Uncle Tobys, EA Sports Active, Flora pro-activ and Curves; and National Providing Sponsors - V-ZUG and Tefal.