Just like Groundhog Day, it comes around every February. That is, February is always designated as Heart Health Month, a yearly reminder that heart disease is the #1 killer in our country. And this year, and in several years to come, heart disease deaths will likely climb even higher due to COVID. Whether because of the virus itself, or due to medical conditions caused by the virus, more people will likely die due to direct damage to their hearts, delayed treatment because of lockdowns, or poor lifestyle behaviors while being quarantined. And this for a disease that is largely preventable if we just take the time to understand how to live a healthy lifestyle and support each other in those efforts. For a comprehensive and informative guide to healthy heart living, get ready to exercise, eat right, and click here.

It’s also important to understand that when we talk about “Heart Health” and “Heart Disease” we’re really talking about a range of conditions and concerns, involving both your heart and your vascular (circulatory) system. For example, the term “cardiovascular disease” covers all types of illness associated with your heart and blood vessels, and includes the range of conditions from stroke to congestive heart failure to peripheral artery disease. Your vascular system involves the blood vessels (arteries and veins) pumping blood throughout the body and toward and away from your heart. The term “heart disease” is the equivalent of “coronary heart disease” and this is the most common heart affliction that describes the build-up of plaque in arteries and reduction of blood flow to the heart, leading to chest pain (angina), blood clots and heart attacks. As over 350,000 Americans die of coronary heart disease each year, it’s critical to know how to protect yourself and prevent the range of conditions that can arise. To find out about the prevalence of coronary heart disease in your location, check your cholesterol and click here.

With regular and ongoing advice to eat healthily, exercise, keep your blood pressure and cholesterol low, and your weight in check, you probably think you know everything there is to know about keeping your heart and its supporting systems healthy. Yet there are continuous and ongoing studies that underscore the importance of this advice and even go further in supporting it. For example, In a new study published in PLOS Medicine, researchers were able to follow over 90,000 people over the course of 5 years to monitor the value of exercise and its contributions to heart health. While it’s easy to understand the positive effects of exercise, what was new in this research was its report that there seem to be no upper limits on the benefits of exercise for heart health. As the researchers concluded, “Increasing the amount of physical activity up to quite high levels provides an increasing benefit in terms of cardiovascular disease prevention.” So strap on your sneakers and read more here. And what about food? You know the drill about the value of a heart-healthy diet. But new research published in the British Medical Journal underscores the damage that can be done from even a small portion of fried food. Reviewing previous studies and doing more in-depth analysis, researchers were able to discern that the more fried food you eat, the higher your risk of a cardiovascular event and heart failure. While the cause and effect are not entirely understood, the message is pretty compelling: steer clear of copious amounts of chicken fingers and french fries if you want to keep your heart healthy. For further insights, click here.