POTTSBORO, TX - When it comes to women's health, most people don't think about heart disease as the leading cause of death. Dr. Winston Marshall, a cardiovascular physician in Sherman, said 50% of deaths that occur in women are cardiovascular related.

It's more prevalent than breast cancer, cervical and uterine cancer combined. What’s more startling, the four counties served by the Texoma Health Foundation, Grayson, Fannin, Bryan and Marshall, carry the second highest rate of heart disease in the nation.

"There's a lot of prevalence of heart disease in Grayson County and surrounding counties and we're really busy because of that and we're here to make women more aware of what they can do for themselves,” said Dr. Marshall.

That's why the Texoma Health Foundation says today's Go Red for Women luncheon is important for women in our area. It was part of the national "Wear Red Day" to raise awareness in the fight against heart disease.

"It is a social get together put around an extremely serious subject, so it's a worthwhile get together,” said Ginger Nye, 2010 Go Red Committee Chair.

400 women and men attended at Tanglewood Resort where they received free screenings that included blood pressure and cholesterol, plenty of helpful information, and a healthy lunch.

"You know they look at these numbers and they say you need to get to the doctor, or are you taking blood pressure medicine or do you have this or that? They can tell from those numbers if you need to get some help and when they say go you need to go,” said Nye about the free health screenings.

And to hear the survival story of women who made it through a heart attack brings the message close to home.

"It's a real good resource we do once a year for the ladies to really know about the heart and how important it is to take care of themselves,” said Marshall.

And there's still one more chance to get a free health screening if you missed out today. The Texoma Health Foundation will hold another one on February 16th at their Sherman office.