Newborns Sport Tiny Red Hats For Heart Health

PARK RIDGE, IL — All babies born this month at a local hospital are being fitted with tiny red hats in recognition of the top killer of Americans and the most common type of birth defect in the country. Advocate Health Care has begun giving out thousands of red crocheted hats to newborns born in February as part of the "Little Hats, Big Hearts" campaign in recognition of American Heart Month.

The initiative intends to raise awareness about heart disease and congenital heart defects. It's a joint effort with the American Heart Association, which is distributing 6,000 hats across the Chicago area. According to a news release, 2,000 of them are set to be given to infants in the Advocate Health Care system and a quarter of those will end up in its Park Ridge hospitals.

“Our families love the red hats and they are so meaningful,” said Paula Glass, Clinical Manager, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Advocate Children’s Hospital-Park Ridge.

“Whether they have one of the many infants in the NICU struggling with a heart issue or know other family and friends facing heart disease, the hats are a powerful symbol.”

This is the fifth consecutive year that Advocate has paired up with the group, which said more than 40,000 babies are born with heart defects every year.

“The Little Hats, Big Hearts initiative is a unique way to educate families about congenital heart defects, which affects nearly one percent of newborns and can range from mild to severe," said Dr. Alan Brown, director of cardiology and the lipid clinic at Lutheran General Hospital.

"Anything we can do to raise awareness of heart disease, the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S., is beneficial for our patients,” he said.

_{Photos courtesy Advocate Lutheran General Hospital}