Laura Bush's Last Days in the White House

First Lady talks about heart disease, Jenna's wedding and Bill Clinton.

ByABC News via logo
February 26, 2009, 6:13 PM

Jan. 31, 2008— -- In her final year in the White House, first lady Laura Bush focuses on matters of the heart.

In her role as first lady, Bush has been ambassador of the Heart Truth campaign, intended to raise awareness about heart disease in women and inspire them to protect their health. Part of that campaign is the Red Dress Project, which encourages women to wear red on the first Friday in February as a national reminder of a disease that claims the lives of 480,000 American women a year.

As a mother, she's busy shopping for dresses and planning the May 10 wedding of her daughter Jenna at the family home in Crawford, Texas, though the first lady says she "halfway hoped it would be in the White House."

Tune in to "Good Morning America" Friday morning to watch Diane Sawyer's candid interview with Laura Bush.

"But I always knew the whole time that Jenna wanted it to be at home," Bush said. "And I don't blame her. It'll be small, and it'll be private, and you know, just be perfect for Jenna and just what she wants."

Small for the president's daughter means "a couple hundred people," Bush said.

Bush is passionate about her role as ambassador of the Heart Truth campaign, which she has worked on since 2003.

"And that's what's happened since women have started to learn that heart disease is the No. 1 killer and that it's not just a man's disease," Bush said. "And don't be embarrassed. If it isn't a heart attack, you know, there's no reason to be embarrassed. Just get straight to the hospital, if you start having any of these symptoms."

Those symptoms include pain in the neck, arms or jaw, discomfort in the center of the chest, difficulty breathing and extreme fatigue.