February is Heart Health Month
I know you see it coming. Jewelry commercials on every channel. Candy, cards, and stuffed animals are overflowing every isle at every store. February is definitely the month to consider matters of the heart.
Also, as of today, it’s Heart Health month, which gives us a chance to focus absolutely and completely on what sweeps us off our feet and makes us run.
Did you know that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States?
Red Is the New Pink
The American Heart Association reports that among women who die each year, one in four dies of heart disease.
Indeed, more women die of cardiovascular disease than from all types of cancer combined!
To dispel the myths and raise awareness, the American Heart Association has created “Go Red For Women” – a social initiative designed to encourage women to take charge of their health and get the facts on heart disease.
Risk Factors (and we’re not just talking men here)
Many factors can put our tickers at risk, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, poor diet, smoking, obesity, and inactivity.
Think it doesn’t apply to you? The CDC, or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, put together a nice chart displaying the percentage of U.S. adults with heart disease risk factors:
If you can’t seem to find the motivation to get those pounds off, this should get you off the couch-and in a hurry: 73% of adults with heart disease are either inactive or obese.
There is some good news in all this…
Luckily, nearly all of these risk factors can be mitigated with changes to your current lifestyle, and according to the American Heart Association, “Walking is the single most effective form of exercise to achieve heart health.”
That is great news!
They recommend at least 30 minutes of exercise daily, and chances are you can fit a in half hour of walking… be it all at once or in increments.
- Walk to work or walk during your lunch break!
- Take the dogs for a stroll after dinner every night.
- Park in the very back of the parking lot at your grocery store.
And when you start make plans this Valentine’s Day, make sure to get the flowers and to make those reservations in advance. To really show them you care, maybe you can take an after dinner stroll around the park together, hand-in-hand.
Now that is what I call true love.
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For more tips on how to get started on a walking program, visit www.startwalkingnow.org