Stars Strut Catwalk for Women's Heart Health

Feb. 14 -- FRIDAY, Feb. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Actress Hilary Duff wearing Donna Karan, soap queen Susan Lucci wowing the crowd in Gustavo Cadile, skater Kristi Yamaguchi showing Olympic style in Vera Wang, and CBS anchor Katie Couric bringing the show to a close in Carmen Marc Valvo -- all of these stars, and more, proudly wore red on the runway Friday for the 7th annual Red Dress Collection, aimed at raising awareness of women's heart health.

As kick-off for New York City's Fashion Week, the show is a yearly highlight of The Heart Truth campaign, sponsored by the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to help raise awareness of the nation's leading killer of women. Since its inception in 2002, the Red Dress has become the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness.

The celebrities and designers showcased on the Bryant Park catwalk hope to "tell all of us that being healthy never, ever goes out of style," said this year's host, Tim Gunn, star of Bravo's Project Runway and Tim Gunn's Guide to Style. "In their own manner of speaking, they take 'make it work,' and they take it to heart," he added.

The event is meant to inspire all women -- the young and those a little older. Twenty-two-year-old film star Amanda Bynes strutted, in Daniel Swarovski. But so did 57-year-old "Wonder Woman" Lynda Carter, in Carolina Herrera. And, to great applause, ever-young actress Cicely Tyson, 75, resplendent in B. Michael.

One Red Dress Collection regular, supermodel and Project Runway host Heidi Klum, applauded the campaign's effectiveness in getting the word out to women. "Since 'The Heart Truth' campaign was launched, awareness has increased by 23 percent. I want to see that number rising," she told HealthDay. Working with event co-sponsor Diet Coke, Klum said she "reached a lot of people last year, and this year my goal is to reach even more women so they get tested and stay healthy."

But much more work needs to be done, added NHLBI director Dr. Elizabeth Nabel.