The Heart of the Matter
Is it February already? Where did January go? With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it got me to thinking about roses, chocolate, love, the color red, hearts, giving your heart to the one you love, American Heart Month, heart disease and organ donation, specifically hearts.
While the first few things I mentioned are rather cliché and Valentine’s day which is sometimes referred to as the “Hallmark Holiday”, people tend to forget the more important things about the month of February; The Real Heart of the Month. Did you know that The American Heart Association has declared February 5th, 2016 as National Wear Red Day? A day that is now dedicated to help raise awareness for heart disease and stroke in women. This year marks the 13th anniversary of National Wear Red Day and huge strides towards awareness on heart disease have been made, here are some successes:
- Nearly 90% of women have made at least one healthy behavior change.
- More than one-third of women have lost weight.
- More than 50% of women have increased their exercise.
- 6 out of 10 women have changed their diets.
- More than 40% of women have checked their cholesterol levels.
- One third of women has talked with their doctors about developing heart health plans.
- Today, nearly 300 fewer women die from heart disease and stroke each day.
- Death in women has decreased by more than 30 percent over the past 10 years.
Don\’t Miss a Beat!
Despite the progress there is still more work to be done, one in three deaths among women each year is caused either by heart disease or stroke. Approximately every minute one of these women dies in our country alone, more than 500,000 a year. It is the #1 killer in women, yet only 1 in 5 women believe that this is a great health risk for them. Perhaps our lack of awareness is due to the media and how many heart problems portrayed on television, commercials, and infomercials involve a man as opposed to a woman. With proper education – many of these deaths, for men and women, are preventable. That is why the entire month of February is now dedicated to raising awareness of cardiovascular health, American Heart Month. Uncontrolled high blood pressure is the leading cause of heart disease. There are pills that will help regulate your blood pressure, but it’s very important to live an active and healthy lifestyle as well. Educate yourself, learn the warning signs, visit www.heart.org or www.goredforwomen.org to learn more about how you can educate yourself – you might save your life or the lives of your loved ones. Be a sweetheart & explore the real heart of the month.
In the spirit of love – consider organ donation. Did you know that “121,514 people are waiting for an organ? 22 people will die each day waiting for an organ. One organ donor can save up to eight lives”.
Static Clean understands the importance of American Heart Month. We have donated to the cause and will continue to provide static and contamination control products to hospitals and medical companies that need to use clean, contamination-free equipment on you and your loved ones. We also have a number of people within the company that are organ donors. From all of us here at Static Clean to you and your loved ones – have a blessed, loved & aware month!
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