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Celebrities turned up for this year’s annual New York Fashion Week wearing red as part of the Red Dress Campaign which aims at raising awareness among women about the dangers of heart disease.
Stars including "Grey’s Anatomy" actress Sara Ramirez, "Ugly Betty’s" Ana Ortiz, singer Ashanti and Rita Moreno, as well Heidi Klum, all strutted down the runway on Friday in their red best for Laura Bush's healthy heart campaign then took their seats at other shows to watch the actual shows.
"The Heart Truth is this, heart disease is the leading cause of death for American women," First Lady Laura Bush, who opened the show, told attendees, who included stars such as Liza Minnelli, who also took the stage sporting a Halston Original spangled red tunic over black velvet pants.
The campaign has reached millions of women, she said, encouraging them to lose weight, give up smoking, exercise more and make other healthy changes.
"Nothing draws attention," she said, "like a little red dress."
"I had no idea that heart disease was so prevalent among Latinas, so if this helps to put a face on that, then I'm glad," Ortiz said, "It's my first Fashion Week. I grew up in New York but I never got to go before. I was always outside the tents."
"We tend to think of heart disease as a man's disease," said NHBLI Director Dr. Elizabeth Nabel. "But the truth is that since 1991 more women have died each year of heart disease than men. And that's why we began this campaign -- to communicate that, in fact, heart disease kills more women each year than all cancers combined."
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