The 'Go Red' Campaign Brings Attention To Women's Heart Health

(CBS) -- The Go Red campaign brings attention to women's heart health.

CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker tells us what every woman should know.

"I first became a survivor when I collapsed playing college volleyball," says Kathy Heneghan.

That's when she discovered she had a heart condition called Wolff Parkinson White Syndrome. She recovered and was seemingly healthy for the next decade, but then her brother died of a heart condition called Long QT syndrome.

"About three months after that I started having some symptoms – palpitations," she says.

Heneghan learned she had the same condition as her brother.

To manage her condition, she has a defibrillator implanted in her body.

"To some degree, my brother saved my life," she says.

Cardiovascular diseases kill nearly one in three women each year. You need to know the signs of danger. And they are not as obvious as the more obvious symptoms you might see on TV, such as someone clutching their chest.

Genetics play some role, 80 percent of heart and stroke events can be prevented by lifestyle changes like eating better, quitting smoking and exercising.

Heneghan serves as the co-chair of the Young Professionals Board for the American Heart Association.