Professor Engle

Speech 100
Fall 2013
Persuasive Speech Outline
The Heart Truth
Specific Purpose: to persuade my audience to help create awareness of
heart disease as number one killer of women.
Thesis Sentence: working with organizations such as The Heart Truth
can help save lives of thousands of women who are at risk of
developing heart disease.
Introduction
I.
[ Show YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=m4Hd5Btdbhc ] When you see all these radiant women
walking the runway in gorgeous dresses what do you notice?
That all of them are celebrities? That all the dresses are made
by famous designers? Do you start questioning why all of
them are red?
II.
The fashion show is one of the tools of the foundation named
The Heart Truth in creating awareness of heart disease as
the number one killer of women in the U.S.
III.
As most women I thought that heart disease was most
common in men and considered myself to be out of risk. And
as most women I like fashion. When I first learned about The
Heart Truth from my FIT teacher and saw their annual The
Red Dress Collection fashion show, I thought that there was
no better way to reach out to women of all ages and spread
the message. I studied the National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institutes website and consulted American Heart Association
and Web MD websites.
IV.
Today I would like to encourage all of you to help The Heart
Truth spread its message.
Body
I.

According to Mayo Clinic, although heart disease is often

thought of as a problem for men, more women than men die
of heart disease each year.
A. The American Heart Associations report from 2004 says
that 42.1 million women had cardiovascular disease, which
resulted in 461,000 deaths.
B. Most symptoms of heart disease are similar in men and
women, but some have a greater impact on women than
men.

1. Metabolic syndrome- a combination of fat around your

abdomen, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and
high triglycerides- has more negative effects on women
than men.
2. Mental stress and depression affect women and their
hearts much stronger.
3. Smoking is a greater risk factor for heart disease in
women than in men.
4. Low levels of estrogen after menopause pose a
significant risk factor for developing cardiovascular
disease in the smaller blood vessels.
C. We all have mothers and sisters, who are so dear to us and
whom we want to protect from any possible danger.
1. All women are at a risk with it increasing in women after
40 and all of them should know about it.
II.

Serious health campaigns such as The Heart Truth help raise

awareness of the danger of heart disease in women.
A. The Heart Truth campaign was launched in 2002 after a
series of meetings of health experts that established the
need to develop a national action plan to reduce heart
diseases toll on American women.
1. It is sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute (NLHBI), which is a part of the National
Institutes of Health.
2. It is a science-based health education program that
provides only research proven facts.
B. It lets women connect with other women and share their
testimonies or Red Stories about their health issues and
how they deal with them.
C. The purpose of the campaign is to make the information
about heart health easily accessible to those who are
interested in learning about it for themselves or bringing it
to the family or a community.
1. The campaign website has all the necessary tools for
creating a very informative one hour presentation about
heart disease.
a. It contains a speakers kit, posters, brochures,
links to websites where one can order campaign
materials: red dress pins, wallet cards.
D. The Heart Truth promotes a series of events that have
proven to be very effective in contributing to the main goal
of the campaign-creating awareness of heart disease.
1. The Heart Truth hosts its annual Red Dress Collection
Fashion Show on the first day of New Yorks Fashion
Week in February.

2. To support the Red Dress as the national symbol for

women and heart disease awareness, The Heart Truth
proclaimed National Wear Red Day on the first Friday
of February.
3. The NHLIB together with its partners created The Heart
Truth Road Show to bring health education and heart
disease factor screenings to populations in U.S. cities at
high risk of heart disease.
III.

The Heart Truth campaign has been very successful.

A. According to a 2012 American Heart Association survey,
the awareness among women that heart disease is their
leading cause of death doubled over the last 12 years since
the campaign launch.
B. The Red Dress symbol became widely acknowledged and
helped to attract a lot of contributors or partners.
C. According to the American Heart Association website,
today 21% fewer women are dying from heart disease than
10 years ago.

Conclusion
I.
II.

III.

I hope you all now understand the importance of the message

that The Heart Truth has been spreading over years and can
see the positive impact of its education program.
I encourage you all to become involved with The Heart Truth
by going to www.hearttruth.gov and learning more about the
heart disease.
A. Wear red on February 7th, 2014 and watch the Empire
Building turn red as a result of America goes Red
Challenge.
B. Organize an event in your community and use The Heart
Truth Speakers kit to educate others.
C. Start a National Wear Red Day Fundraiser to show your
support.
In the end, it is YOU who can make the difference. Be the
change that you want to see in the world.

Works Cited
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/educational/hearttruth/index.htm
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-disease/HB00040
www.heart.org