February is not just known as the month of hearts because of Valentine’s Day. February is also Heart Health Awareness Month, an important reminder not to take our hardest-working organ that is constantly pumping blood and life into our bodies for granted.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally, taking about 17.9 million lives each year. Furthermore, it is also the leading cause of death in the United States, with about 659,000 people dying from heart disease each year and accounting for 1 in every 4 deaths.
This means that in the United States, one person dies every 36 seconds from cardiovascular disease, and someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds. With statistics so alarming, it's no surprise that we have a whole month dedicated solely to heart health awareness.
Now more than ever, it is essential that everyone knows how to properly take care of their hearts in order to live a long and healthy life.
Read on to learn about how you can boost your heart health and prevent heart disease.
What is heart disease?
Heart disease is a general, umbrella term used to describe a variety of heart conditions and complications including:
- Disease of the heart muscle
- Blood vessel disease, such as one of the most common: coronary artery disease
- Irregular heartbeats, formally known as “arrhythmias”
- Congenital heart defects, or heart conditions that you’re born with
Many forms of heart disease can be treated, or better yet, prevented, by making healthy lifestyle choices.
However, heart disease can eventually lead to heart attacks, heart failure, and/or cardiac arrest.
Everything You Need to Know About Heart Attacks
What is a Heart Attack?
A heart attack, or a myocardial infarction, is a life-threatening emergency that occurs when the blood flow to the heart is severely reduced or blocked.
This lack of blood flow causes the heart muscle to begin to die.
What Causes a Heart Attack?
The vast majority of heart attacks are caused by a blockage in one of the blood vessels leading to the heart.
This most often happens due to a buildup of plaque, or fatty, cholesterol-containing deposits, in the arteries. This buildup is called atherosclerosis and is what often leads to the blockage that causes a heart attack.
In some cases, these plaque deposits can rupture inside one of the coronary arteries, leaving behind a blood clot where the rupture occurred. If this blood clot blocks an artery, depriving the heart of a sufficient blood supply, this can also lead to a heart attack.
While it is possible to have a heart attack without a blockage, this is rare and only accounts for 5 percent of all heart attacks. This type of heart attack can be caused by the following:
- Obstruction that came from somewhere else in your body
- Trauma to the heart muscle or arteries
- Coronary artery spasms
- Rare medical conditions
- Electrolyte imbalance
- Eating disorders
- Takotsubo or stress cardiomyopathy
- Anomalous coronary arteries
What Are Heart Attack Symptoms and Signs? What Does a Heart Attack Feel Like?
Heart attack symptoms and signs vary from person to person. For example, some people might experience severe symptoms, while others might experience mild symptoms or even no symptoms at all.
However, common heart attack symptoms include the following:
- Chest pain that can feel like tightness, pain, pressure, contracting, or aching
- Cold sweat
- Shortness of breath
- Pain or discomfort that can migrate to the arm, shoulder, back, neck, jaw, teeth, or, in some cases, the upper belly
- Lightheadedness or sudden dizziness
- Fatigue
- Heartburn or indigestion
- Nausea or vomiting
It is important to note that women and men may exhibit different signs of a heart attack. Click here to learn more.
How to Prevent Heart Disease and Boost Heart Health During Heart Health Awareness Month
1. Schedule regular doctor’s appointments to check in on your heart health.
Regardless of whether you are healthy or struggle with any health conditions, scheduling regular check-up appointments with your doctor is a good idea for monitoring your overall health, as well as your heart health.
From interpreting blood test results to listening to your heart with a stethoscope, your doctor will be able to determine the health of your heart and possibly catch any heart conditions you may have in the early stages before it’s too late.
2. Maintain a healthy weight through a healthy, balanced diet and exercise.
Maintaining a healthy weight through a healthy diet and exercise not only has countless benefits to the overall health of your body in general, but it also helps boost your heart health.
Choosing to fuel your body with whole, healthy foods and exercising your body regularly can help protect the heart by helping you maintain a healthy weight, reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, and improving blood pressure and cholesterol.
Remember that a heart is happiest when it’s strong and healthy.
3. Stop smoking or using tobacco products.
Among several other subsequent health issues, smoking, using tobacco products, and even second-hand smoke are extremely harmful to your heart health.
Chemicals found in tobacco products can damage the heart and blood vessels. For example, the smoke from cigarettes lowers the oxygen found in your blood, which naturally increases heart rate and blood pressure. This is because the heart has to work much harder in order to supply enough oxygen to the body and brain.
Do yourself a favor, and spare yourself from all of the risks and side effects that come with smoking.
4. Make sure to get enough sleep every night and be well rested.
The importance of sufficient and sound sleep is often undervalued or not taken seriously in our society. However, sleeping is a necessity in the day-to-day functioning of our bodies and is directly linked to our overall health.
In fact, people who don’t get enough sleep have a higher risk of high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, depression, and you guessed it, heart attack.
For tips on getting more high-quality sleep, click here.
5. Reduce the stress in your life.
Beyond the damage that chronic stress is known to cause to the body, stress is also tied to heart disease in many ways.
For example, stress can raise your blood pressure and heart rate, as well as cause insomnia. Extreme stress can even be a trigger for a heart attack
Furthermore, stress can cause you to develop unhealthy coping strategies that increase your risk for heart disease such as over or undereating, smoking, and drinking heavily.
If you feel like there is an abundance of stress in your life, try to find ways that you can cut some out or use healthy coping mechanisms such as exercising, listening to music, or going to therapy.
How Can You Participate in American Heart Month 2024?
Here are some ways that you can be a part of the heart this February for American Heart Month:
- Wear red on February 2 for National Wear Red Day® to raise awareness of heart health
- Share American Heart Month posts on social media with #OurHearts
- Educate yourself and others and get smart about your heart
- Donate money to heart health charities that are doing incredible work such as The American Heart Association, Mended Hearts, The Children’s Heart Foundation, WomenHeart, etc.
- Improve your heart health with exercise, adequate sleep, and mindful eating
- Lower your stress with meditation or relaxing techniques and activities
- Give up smoking
- Spread the word by getting other companies and organizations involved in heart health education
No Stairs, No Stress: Stop Straining Your Heart with a Stairlift for Seniors
Are you stressed over straining on the stairs? Acorn Stairlifts can lift your hearts.
Many people are affected by the gradual onset of chronic heart failure from congenital heart disease, disorders in the valves inside the heart, or abnormal heart rhythms such as atrial fibrillation. Chest pain, especially on exertion; shortness of breath; and swollen feet and ankles are common symptoms that can seriously affect a person's mobility, independence, and quality of life.
Stairs are one of the most challenging hurdles for people with limited exercise tolerance due to heart disease and may be a potential health risk in themselves. Using the stairs under these conditions can cause falls that could potentially lead to injury or exacerbate health conditions. This is where Acorn can help protect you and your heart health— A stairlift can make the presence of stairs irrelevant.
Contact Acorn today for a free, no-obligation stairlift quote and home survey. Your heart will thank you for it later.
