Have a Heart to Heart with Your Heart

Have you worn red yet in February? Not just for Valentine’s Day (one of my favorite holidays of the year!) but for women’s heart health? Sometimes we women get so busy, we don’t take care of our own health, or ignore warning signs of problems. February is a good reminder for all women to protect our heart health.

Your-heart-health.com has some sobering facts about women and heart disease, but not all of it is bad. For example, women’s awareness that heart disease is their leading cause of death increased from 30% in 1997 to 56% in 2012.

However, only 42% of women aged 35 and older are concerned about heart disease. After their first heart attack, 26% of women age 45 and older die within a year, compared to 19% of men.

Other facts to note from the article: Only 3% of women between 20 to 59 years of age engage in the recommended 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day that is recommended for your heart health. And at age 45, the lifetime risk for cardiovascular disease is more than 1 in 2 women.

So what can you do? Well, the article suggests talking with your doctor about your risk factors, make heart-healthy changes in diet and lifestyle to help your heart, and don’t ignore any symptoms you might have.

We celebrate February as the month of love, but take some time to love yourself and your health as well. Because you can’t take care of everyone else in your life, until you take care of yourself. And wear red to make sure your sisters, mothers, and girlfriends do the same!

Want to read more about women’s heart health? Read the article here.

 

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