Importance of Heart Healthy week
This week, you might have seen the Pillars requesting you join in on activities around campus for Heart Healthy week. These activities included a walk around the quad, a pickleball tournament, and wearing red and pink to support the cause. These all are great activities in and of themselves, but what exactly is Heart Healthy Week, why is it so important, and how can you help your heart?
Heart Healthy Week comes from the recognition of American Heart Month, which occurs every February. The month aims to bring awareness to heart-related diseases and also show American citizens how they can better their health. The month is recognized by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and it is encouraged that everyone wears red to bring attention to heart disease in America. American Heart Month is all about finding ways to improve your heart’s health, and the NHLBI provides great resources and even a calendar with activities that help keep your heart healthy. The NHLBI and the CDC also use American Heart Month as a way to encourage people to learn CPR. CPR helps keep the heart pumping and prevents brain damage if someone’s heart suddenly stops. CPR can be lifesaving, and the American Heart Association uses American Heart Month as a way to spread the word about the benefits of learning and using CPR.
American Heart Month is recognized by many medical associations, but why is it so important to the general population? Heart disease has been the number one cause of death for adults since the 1950s. Heart disease is also an umbrella term for conditions that cause blood clots, structural damage to the heart, and many more. Despite it being the main cause of death in American adults, heart disease is typically incredibly preventable. Heart disease has increasingly become a nationwide epidemic. Many people are unaware just how easy it is to prevent heart disease, but Heart Healthy Week aims to bring awareness to the detrimental causes and effects of heart disease as well as how to stop it before it even starts. You may be thinking, “but we’re kids, why should we even care about heart disease if it happens most frequently in adults?” The University of Rochester Medical Center provides a different outlook on this claim, as “heart disease starts in childhood.” The child may not have heart problems YET, but the habits you form in childhood usually carry on into adulthood. If a child is not prompted to enact healthy habits for their heart, then they will be much more prone to heart-related issues later in life. Heart disease may not seem like a problem to you now, but the choices you make as a kid and young adult will affect you and your heart for the rest of your life.
Now that we’ve established how important Heart Healthy Month is, what are some ways you can keep your heart healthy?
- Don’t smoke or vape– Smokers are categorized as very high risk for heart disease, but quitting smoking can lower your blood pressure and heart rate and dramatically decrease your chances of suffering a heart attack or stroke.
- Exercise– Moving your body for just 30 minutes a day can help improve your cholesterol while also giving you a pleasant boost of endorphins
- Eat a Heart-Healthy Diet– Fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat foods are incredibly beneficial for your heart as well as the rest of your body. (Keep in mind that no one is telling you not to indulge in fast food or candy. These foods may not be great for your heart, but everyone deserves a special treat once in a while. Just make sure you eat these foods in moderation.)
Heart Healthy Week aims to bring awareness to heart-related conditions while also showing people how to better themselves and their hearts. Maintaining your heart health is important, but it can also be hard. The trick is to find what works for YOU when taking steps to maintain a healthy heart. So from everyone at the Vigornia, Happy Heart Healthy week, and one more thing: We Heart You!