Heart Health

     Valentine's Day is approaching. People will be giving hearts to their special someone. Chocolate hearts, candy hearts, heart shaped gifts -even pictures with hearts. But what about their hearts? Not giving them away, but taking proper care of them.

     February is American Heart Month. According to the American Heart Association, "Cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke, remains the leading global cause of death with more than 17.9 million deaths each year." Sadly, the heart disease death toll is expected to rise higher than 23.6 million by the year 2030.

     As if the global numbers were not alarming, America already has a huge problem in this area. Let's break this down and see what this means. Each day approximately 2,300 Americans die of cardiovascular disease. That's an average of one death every 38 seconds. So if you don't already know someone who died from cardiovascular disease, it is highly likely that you will soon. Every 80 seconds one woman in America unnecessarily dies from cardiovascular disease.

     The most surprising part of this equation is that you have the opportunity to give yourself a fighting chance. You can bring your heart to a healthier state thereby reducing your risk by up to 80%. In other words, you can give yourself an 80% chance of not developing cardiovascular disease.  Research has found that this can be done even by making small changes to your lifestyle and the food you eat. What is one step you are taking to improve your heart health?
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