American Heart Month

Heart disease is a leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women. But you can do a lot to protect your heart and stay healthy.

Heart-healthy living involves understanding your risk, making choices, and taking steps to reduce your chances of getting heart disease, including coronary heart disease, the most common type. Coronary and other types of heart disease cause heart attacks, but by taking preventive measures, you can lower your risk of developing heart disease and also improve your overall health and well-being.

The first step toward heart health is understanding your risk of heart disease. Your risk depends on many factors, some of which are changeable and others that are not. Two of the major risk factors for heart disease are high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol. If either of these numbers is high, work with your doctor to get it to a healthy range.

What can I do to lower my risks?

· Choose heart-healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables, while limiting others, such as saturated and trans fats and added sugars.

· Aim for a healthy weight. A healthy weight for adults is usually when the body mass index (BMI) is between 18.5 and 24.9.

· Manage Stress - an emotionally upsetting event, particularly one involving anger, can serve as a trigger for a heart attack or angina in some people. Stress can contribute to high blood pressure and other heart disease risk factors.

· Get regular physical activity, with physician approval.

· Quit smoking - Smoking can raise your risk of heart disease and heart attack and worsen other heart disease risk factors.

· Get Enough Good Quality Sleep - Sleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout your life. Not getting enough sleep or good-quality sleep over time can raise your risk for chronic health problems.

Taking extra steps,each day to help improve heart health will only positively impact the way we live.

Source: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/heart-healthy-living