February is Heart Month, the perfect time to learn about your risk for heart disease and the steps you need to take now to help your heart. While heart disease and the conditions that lead to it can happen at any age, high rates of obesity and high blood pressure among younger people (ages 35-64) are putting them at risk for heart disease earlier in life.
Heart disease has been the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S since 1950. About 697,000 Americans die from heart disease each year – that’s one in every five deaths. In the United States, someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds and every minute more than one person dies from a heart disease-related event.
The term “heart disease” refers to several types of heart conditions. The most common type of heart disease in the United States is coronary artery disease. Coronary artery disease is caused by plaque buildup in the wall of the arteries that supply blood to the heart. This decreased blood flow can cause a heart attack. Coronary heart disease is the most common type of heart disease, killing about 382,820 people annually.
High blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol, and smoking are risk factors for heart disease. About half of Americans (49%) have at least one of these risk factors. Several other medical conditions and lifestyle choices can also put people at a higher risk for heart disease, including diabetes, being overweight and obesity, poor diet, physical inactivity, and excessive alcohol use. The Center for Disease Control recommends that anyone who has risk factors for heart disease make an appointment with their physician and begins making lifestyle changes. Eating healthier, increasing physical activity, and quitting smoking may help to lower those risk factors.
At the Health Department, we know how difficult lifestyle changes can be. We are here to help! Contact Jenna or Bailey, our clinic nurses, and ask about our free blood pressure checks. Are you unsure how to make changes to your diet? Contact Jenny, our Creating Health Communities Coordinator, and ask about our healthy cooking classes. While you are talking with her, ask about our upcoming walking audit groups. We will be evaluating the walkability of our neighborhoods. Have you been thinking of quitting tobacco? We have four trained Tobacco Cessation Specialists. Call and talk with Lesa for more information. We have also been partnering with Ohio University to offer mobile clinics. On February 24th, Ohio University’s Mobile Clinic will be offering free health screens in Crooksville at Ruff’s IGA from 10:00a-1:00p. Stop by and check your cholesterol and blood sugar levels!
The Perry County Health Department is working to keep you healthy where you live, work and play. For more information about any program or service offered by the Perry County Health Department, contact us at 342-5179, visit us online at www.perrycountyhealth.info and follow us on Facebook!
Deborah Raney is director of health education at the Perry County Health Department and is a weekly contributor to the Perry County Tribune.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
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Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.