From spearheading in-house education programs in Israel’s top-tier companies to displaying a giant inflatable heart in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square, the Hadassah Medical Center’s Linda Joy Pollin Cardiovascular Wellness Center for Women has launched a major campaign throughout Israel to raise awareness of women’s heart disease.

The events are part of the International Heart Disease Awareness Week.

At the start of the campaign, the heart was deflated. As well-known Israeli personalities spread the message about heart health across social media, the heart began to inflate. The more “likes,” the bigger the heart swelled.

“Heart disease is still mistakenly thought of as a man’s malady,” says Pollin Center Director Dr. Donna Zfat-Zwas. “Moreover, the signs of a heart attack are different for women, and, because they are harder to identify, often women do not call for help.” She notes that “symptoms include chest pain, discomfort, pressure, heaviness, and pain in one or both arms, the upper back, neck, jaw or stomach. Other signs are shortness of breath or inability to take a deep breath, paleness or cold, damp skin, cold sweat, extreme fatigue, inability to fall asleep, fainting, nausea or vomiting and dizziness.”

Dr. Zfat-Zwas cautions, “Women need to stop worrying about being embarrassed that they’ve come to an Emergency Room ‘for nothing’ and get there fast.”

Among the companies participating in the campaign are Visa, Unilever, Bank Hapoalim, El Al, Intel, Madanes Insurance, Estee Lauder, Baruch Padeh Medical Center, Ernst & Young, Teva, Menorah, Oracle, and Ayalon Insurance.