February is American Heart Month

Usually when the month February comes, what comes immediately to our mind was it is a lovers’ month. Lovers have to celebrate a specific day of this month. Alongside with the lovers’ celebration, the government declared that February is American Heart Month. This month is dedicated to raising awareness about heart disease by increasing knowledge about prevention. It is a moment to reflect about a disease that yearly kills more than 600,000 Americans. Heart disease is the leading killer among both American men and women. Cardiovascular disease is a disease of the heart as well as the arteries and veins that supply the different organs of the body with blood. It is a hereditary disease that results from factors like high blood pressure and obesity, cholesterol and diabetes and from cigarette smoking and living on a sedentary lifestyle.

Generally, a healthy heart pumps blood to all parts of the body in a few seconds. You have a heart failure when the heart can no longer pumps blood to all parts of your body. Blood that should be pumped out of the heart backs up in the lungs and other parts of the body. The indications of heart failure – shortness of breath or swelling in the abdomen, hands, legs and feet. Many people with heart failure have an enlarged heart (cardiomegaly). This comes from over years of the heart from exerting to pump out the blood. For most, treatment includes daily medicines, rest, reducing stress, eating less salt and, often, limiting fluids.

As heart failure gets worse, you may feel or notice some or all of these:
• loss of appetite (or nausea)
• Swelling, bloating or pain in the belly
• Sudden weight gain (3 to 4 lbs or more in 1 to 2 days or 2 lbs overnight)
• Swelling of the legs or ankles
• Trouble sleeping, unless propped up on 2 or more pillows (could be from problems other than heart failure)
• frequent, dry, hacking cough (most often when lying down)
• Shortness of breath (may be all of the time, with exertion or only when waking up breathless at night)

We are celebrating this month, as a Heart Month, it is good time to start and assess what can we do just to keep a healthy heart. You can lower or reduce your risk of stroke by changing your lifestyle.

Finally, as a reminder…
• Eat healthy foods, limiting fast and processed foods or choose foods low in sodium (salt). Choose lean meats and poultry without skin and prepare them without saturated trans fat.
• Limit eating foods high in cholesterol content to maximum of 300mg daily.
• Stay active by regular physical activity and maintain a healthy body weight.
• Quit smoking.
• Regular sleeping habits.
• Get your blood pressure check every 2 years.
• Consult with your primary care physician. Your doctor will help you better understand your family’s health history, the signs and symptoms of the disease and the preventive measures to prevent the disease.

“The medical literature tells us that the most effective ways to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and many more problems are through healthy diet and exercise. Our bodies have evolved to move, yet we now use the energy in oil instead of muscles to do our work.”

– David Suzuki
Medicalnewstoday.com