February is Heart Month

Heart disease is the #1 cause of death worldwide; however, there are ways to improve your heart health simply by changing your lifestyle and managing key risk factors.  Below are 10 ways you can improve your heart health and live a longer, healthier life.  

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) can refer to a number of conditions including coronary heart disease, sudden cardiac arrest (heart attack), stroke, heart failure, arrhythmia, and heart value problems.

Statistics regarding CVD are staggering.  CVD is the #1 cause of death in the world, accounting for approximately 18.6 million deaths in 2019.¹  CVD claims more lives each year than all forms of cancer and Chronic Lower Respiratory disease combined.¹  Between 2015-2018, 126.9 million Americans had some form of CVD.  African-Americans have the highest incidence of CVD with (58.8% of women, 60.1% of men).¹  Total costs of CVD are more than $363 billion, including health expenditures and productivity.¹  

On average in the U.S., someone has a heart attack every 39 seconds.¹  The good news is that the death rate from heart disease declined by 28%, from 2008 to 2018.  The bad news is heart attacks and heart disease were among the top 10 most expensive conditions treated in U.S. hospitals.¹ 

In 2018, stroke accounted for about 1 of every 19 deaths in the U.S.¹  2016 data shows a death occurs every 3 minutes and 33 seconds in U.S. due to stroke.¹  Stroke is also the leading cause of disability.  It is vitally important that Americans continue to work towards lowering the incidence of heart disease and stroke.  

What causes heart disease and stroke?

When arteries to the heart or brain build up with fat, cholesterol, and plaque, they become thickened and hardened and cannot supply these vital organs with adequate oxygen.  This is known as Atherosclerosis.  Another way that heart disease and strokes occur is when blood clots form plaque, a heart or brain attack occurs from the lack of proper blood flow and oxygenation.²

Preventing heart disease and strokes.

Because it is our goal to support you in the prevention of heart disease and stroke, we encourage you to partake in the services that we offer at your workplace.  We wish to come alongside you to help you achieve optimal health outcomes.  Additionally, we utilize evidence-based guidelines via accredited health organizations, such as the American Heart Association, to ensure that we are providing you with accurate and reliable information and tools to effectively lower your risks.  

Let’s begin preventing heart disease and stroke today!