Help Your Heart with a Little Knowledge

Heart month is celebrated every February, coinciding with Valentine’s day (which is pretty clever, kudos to Lyndon Johnson on that one) and is dedicated to education and awareness about your heart health. The campaign is not just dedicated to those aging “baby boomers” or “the silver tsunami”, but to everyone: any age, race, or gender. It’s a risk to ANYONE, some more than others.

Someone famous somewhere once said “knowledge is power,” and that is what awareness of movements like Heart Month is—the power to prevent it, survive it, and act when confronted by it. To help you gain some power over heart disease, here are tips to help the heart and lower your risk of heart disease and stroke:

• Use spices on food instead of salt to reduce sodium intake
• Practice at least 30 minutes of physical activity a few times a week
• Watch your weight
• Quit smoking and stay away from secondhand smoke
• Control your cholesterol and blood pressure
•  If you drink alcohol, drink only in moderation
• Eat “heart check foods” (foods in the store that have been certified to meet nutrition requirements based on the sound science of the American Heart Association-they have a logo on them)

Although everyone is at risk for heart disease, you may be more at risk if you don’t do the above, or:

• You are a woman over age 55
• You are a man over age 45
•  Your father or brother had heart disease before age 55
•  Your mother or sister had heart disease before age 65

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, causing 1 in 3 deaths each year. Therefore, if you are a woman, you should educate yourself about how this disease specifically effects women, and how to prevent it. Visit www.goredforwomen.org to learn more.

Hosparus Health remains dedicated to improving the quality of life, including for those with advanced heart disease. The Hosparus Health Heart Connection® program exists to reach the vastly under-served patients that are filling local emergency rooms weekly because they are unable to manage their heart disease symptoms independently at home.

If you are unsure whether you or someone you know qualifies for our services, you may call 800-264-0521 to learn more. The Hosparus Health Heart Connection® program provides in-home visits by our specially trained interdisciplinary team with 24-hour clinical support. In addition, these patients receive a symptom tracker tool designed like a stoplight, allowing the patient (and family) to triage their symptoms as they experience them day to day.

Feeling powerful yet?
No?  Well then, to learn more about heart disease visit www.heart.org.