February is American Heart Month!

WellnessWednesday
Written By Dr. K.

February is the month of love, the month of pride, annnd the month of Hearts!
Not the cute, confection hearts that you used to idly doodle on your notebook in school, but THEE heart.
February is American Heart Month

The heart is a muscular organ nestled in your chest slightly to the left of center. It is about the size of your fist and pumps blood through your body delivering nutrients and assisting in waste removal.

It is a remarkable organ that has its own electrical system beating about 115,000 times a day.

While heart cancer is rare as heart cells stop growing, heart disease is not.
Heart disease refers to several heart conditions such as:

  • Arrhythmia. An arrhythmia is when a heart beats irregularly.

  • Atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is when the arteries become hardened.

  • Cardiomyopathy. Cardiomyopathy causes the muscles of the heart to either weaken or harden.

  • Congenital heart defects. Congenital heart defects are issues in the structure of the heart that were present at birth.

  • Coronary artery disease (CAD). CAD is caused by the buildup of plaque in the arteries of the heart.

  • Heart infections. Heart infections may be caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites.

Roughly 1 in 4 Americans die each year from heart disease and it is the leading cause of death in the United States.
Risk factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking. About 47% of Americans have at least 1 of these 3 risk factors.

To reduce your risk of heart disease, the NIH recommends self-care routines that can including the following:

1. Daily physical activity for at least 30 mins
2. Eating low sodium and low-fat meals and substitute sweets with fruit/veggies.
3. Taking medications as prescribed and keeping up with regular appts
4. Get 7-8 hours of sleep a night
5. Manage stress through meditation, yoga, or quiet time

Lastly, always remember your ABCS
Aspirin
Blood Pressure Control
Cholesterol Management
Smoking Cessation

Heart health is so important to your overall health because your ticker is what keeps you going! Be good to yourself and practice some self-care!

Let us know in the comments how you’ll be practicing self-care this week!

Be Well, My Friends!

Dr. K.
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