MILWAUKEE — Friday marked Wear Red Day, the unofficial kickoff by the American Heart Association to National Heart Month.

It's chance, in part, to the put the importance of heart health in the spotlight as heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The more research, the more funding, the more fighting back we do," said Erin Levzow, a board member with the Milwaukee American Heart Association, "the more we can really understand heart disease and how it affects so many Americans, men and women."

In addition to taking steps to both monitor and improve one's own hearth health, Levzow said it's essential that more Americans learn CPR to help save others' lives in the future.

"CPR is known for life saving," Levzow said. "The fact that not all of us know it is crazy to me."

Watch the full interview above.