President Milanović Endorses Awareness Raising Campaign Aimed at Stroke Prevention in Women

03. February 2023.
20:03

The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović joined today the “Day of Red Dresses” [Dan crvenih haljina] public health educational campaign aimed at stroke prevention and at raising awareness of the specific risk factors linked to stroke in women, the disastrous consequences of neglecting stroke symptoms and the need to make lifestyle changes.

The “Day of Red Dresses” public health campaign was launched in 2002 in the United States. Fifty countries have joined the effort to date and Croatia is participating in the campaign for the fifth consecutive year. This year’s campaign is being held under the auspices of the President of the Republic and the organizers are the Croatian Medical Association-Croatian Neurological Society and the Croatian Society for Gender Differences in Neurology, in cooperation with the City of Zagreb, the University of Zagreb School of Medicine and the Andrija Štampar School of Public Health.

President Milanović gave an address in which he underscored that it is very hard to talk about difficult and painful things on occasions like this, especially if one doesn’t know much about them. “I wasn’t aware of this problem in the female population until last year and I am certainly among those people who became informed because of your initiative. I learned something new and gained awareness about the importance of preventing and treating stroke in women. I want as many people as possible, women in this case, to know about this and for you to reach out to them,” President Milanović told the organizers of the campaign.

Also addressing those present, apart from President Milanović, were the President of the “Day of Red Dresses” Organizing Committee Professor Arijana Lovrenčić-Huzjan, Dean of the University of Zagreb School of Medicine Professor Slavko Orešković, delegate of the minister of health and State Secretary Dr. Marija Bubaš and the Mayor of Zagreb Tomislav Tomašević. The addresses were followed by a fashion show of Croatian fashion brands worn by women who have recovered from a stroke.

The trademark of the campaign is a silhouette of a woman wearing a red dress, with the colour red symbolizing danger – a blood clot – but also love and responsibility towards oneself and one’s health. The campaign aims, among other things, to educate about the symptoms and the need to react quickly to the symptoms of a stroke, which can significantly reduce mortality and negative effects of a stroke.

Adviser to the President of the Republic for Education Jadranka Žarković was alongside President Milanović.

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia/ Dario Andrišek