February is American Heart Month, a time when all people, especially women to focus on your cardiovascular health and to encourage you to pay special attention to understanding, preventing, and treating heart disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.
But you can do a lot to protect your heart. Learn more about heart-healthy living. Learning and prioritizing your heart health can help you avoid severe illness.
Get to know #OurHearts! Learn what healthy blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, and blood sugar level is for you and how they impact your risk for heart disease. Having a basic understanding of information that concerns your health and using the information to inform health-related decisions and actions for yourself and others, is strongly linked to better health.
Did you know…
· African American women ages 20 and older: 81% are overweight, 58% have high blood pressure, 30% have high cholesterol, and 13% have been diagnosed with diabetes.
· African American men ages 20 and older: 72% are overweight, 57% have high blood pressure, 28% have high cholesterol, and 12% have been diagnosed with diabetes.
According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), heart disease risk factors include lack of physical activity, family history of early heart disease, high blood pressure, prediabetes/diabetes, and obesity. Black and African American, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native individuals are at a higher risk for type 2 diabetes.
Keeping your heart healthy starts with living a heart-healthy lifestyle. But first, you need to get smart about your heart. Knowing what causes heart disease, what puts you at risk for it, and how you can reduce those risks can help you make informed decisions to protect your heart and keep it strong.
There are many ways to take action towards better heart health:
• Increase physical activity
• Eat a heart-healthy diet
• Track your blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol
• Get quality sleep
• Reduce stress
• Stop smoking
• Maintain a healthy weight
For more information visit: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/education/american-heart-month
Contact Health Coordinator, Gwendolyn Sadler RN, BSN, CCM
Email: gbs0229@gmail.com Phone: (301) 922-4259
New Morning Star Baptist Church
5016 Sheriff Road, NE
Washington, DC 20019
(202) 396-6672
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