You may know February as the month of love, what with images of Cupid, Valentine’s Day and red hearts appearing like clockwork every year as spring approaches. But did you know there’s another, perhaps more important, event to be celebrated this month? That’s right: It’s American Heart Month, a time to raise awareness about heart health and take steps to help prevent heart disease.

We realize it might not be a pleasant thought, but it’s vital that we all pay attention to the risk that heart disease poses. After all, it’s the No. 1 cause of death in the United States.¹ And while you may think you’re somewhat protected if you’re a woman, you’re actually not: Heart disease affects women just as much as men — it just tends to affect them about 10 years later, in part because of hormonal changes associated with menopause.²

So join the American Heart Association, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health, and other organizations to help raise awareness about this important topic. And while you’re at it, consider wearing red on Feb. 5 for National Wear Red Day®. Join us in setting our workplaces (or home offices) ablaze with the color of red!

In preparation for American Heart Month and National Wear Red Day®, let’s take a look at heart disease — what it is, what causes it and, most important, what you can do to help prevent it … and keep that beautiful heart of yours healthy and happy.

According to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, heart disease is a broad term that typically refers to coronary artery disease (also known as coronary heart disease; we’ll refer to it as heart disease here). Heart disease develops when the arteries that carry blood to the heart become narrowed or blocked by a buildup of plaque within the arteries.³

A number of factors can lead to plaque buildup, including high blood pressure, smoking (including being exposed to secondhand smoke), or having too much sugar, fat or cholesterol in the blood.³

While anyone, of any gender, can develop heart disease, certain people are at higher risk, such as those who:⁴

• Are over the age of 55 (for women)
• Are over the age of 45 (for men)
• Are overweight or obese
• Don't get enough physical activity
• Eat an unhealthful diet
• Have high cholesterol or high blood pressure
• Smoke (or are exposed to secondhand smoke)
• Have a father or brother who had heart disease before the age of 55
• Have a mother or sister who had heart disease before the age of 65

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), your race can increase the risk of heart disease as well. People of African-American, Mexican-American, American Indian and native Hawaiian descent, as well as certain Asian-Americans, tend to have a higher risk due in part to higher rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.⁵ Having diabetes or a personal history of heart attack or stroke increases your risk as well.⁶

While there’s not much you can do to change certain risk factors, such as your age and family history, there are steps you can take to reduce your modifiable risk factors. In fact, the AHA reports that simple changes to your diet and lifestyle can enhance your heart health and lower your risk of heart disease by up to 80 percent! ⁶

Experts recommend the following to help keep your heart, and the rest of you, healthy.

1. Eat a healthy diet.

You can adopt a heart-healthy eating plan by taking the following steps:

• Cut back on sodium. Sure, salt might make your food taste good, but the sodium it contains can elevate your blood pressure and increase your risk for heart disease. Aim to eat fewer than 2,300 mg of sodium per day if your blood pressure is normal; if you’ve got high blood pressure, shoot for a max of 1,500 mg daily (be sure to talk to your doctor to see what she recommends).⁷
• Limit saturated fats. Coming from animal sources such as butter, cheese and fatty meats, saturated fats are the type that are solid at room temperature (as opposed to canola or olive oil, for instance). Since a diet that’s high in saturated fats can increase your levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, which contributes to plaque buildup, these types of fats should make up less than 10 percent of your daily calories.⁸ (Trans fats are even worse for your health but have been banned in the U.S., Harvard Health reports.⁸)
• Limit added sugars. While the natural sugars found in fruits, vegetables and dairy products aren’t so much an issue, it’s added sugars that are causing health problems for people, the Cleveland Clinic reports.⁹ In addition to weight gain, excessive amounts of added sugar — including brown sugar, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, raw sugar and sucrose — have been linked to heart disease and hypertension, metabolic syndrome, obesity and Type 2 diabetes.¹⁰

The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting calories from added sugars to a maximum of 10 percent each day. That equates to 200 calories in a 2,000-calorie diet.¹¹

• Include plenty of heart-healthy foods in your diet. These include vegetables; fruits; whole grains; fat-free or low-fat dairy products; omega-3-rich fish; lean meats; eggs; nuts, seeds and legumes; and oils and foods high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.²

2. Consider when you eat, in addition to what.

Preliminary research suggests that for people of Hispanic/Latino descent, consuming too many calories after 6 p.m. may lead to an increased risk of high blood pressure and prediabetes.12As mentioned above, high blood pressure is a risk factor for heart disease, and new research shows that prediabetes is linked to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.¹³

3. Get up and move.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans states that moving more and sitting less is vital to heart health. Research has shown a strong relationship between sedentary behavior and an increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and other health conditions.¹⁴

The guidelines also recommend that adults get a minimum of 150 to 300 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise each week, in addition to at least two days of muscle-strengthening exercises weekly.¹⁴ (For tips on how to fit more movement into your life, visit here.)

4. Stay at a healthy weight.

If you’re overweight, losing just 10 pounds can lower your risk of heart disease.¹⁵

5. Drink alcohol in moderation, if at all.

Alcohol can raise your blood pressure and increase the levels of triglycerides in your blood, both of which increase your risk of heart disease.¹⁶

6. Manage stress.

According to the University of Rochester Medical Center, stress causes the release of cortisol. Over time, high levels of cortisol can cause an increase in cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar and blood pressure, factors that can increase your risk of heart disease.¹⁷

7. Get enough good sleep.

Research has found that adults who get fewer than six hours of sleep per night are about twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke as those who get six to eight hours. Aim to get at least seven to eight hours of shuteye most nights.¹⁸

8. Consider getting a furry friend.

In addition to helping ease the effects of social isolation brought on by current events, spending time with a dog can increase your production of the feel-good hormones dopamine, oxytocin and serotonin, the AHA reports. This in turn can help reduce your cortisol levels. Having a canine friend can also help lower blood pressure and cholesterol, ease depression and improve your fitness.¹⁹

As we celebrate American Heart Month and National Wear Red Day®, we hope you’ll take the time to educate not only yourself, but your patients, about the vital importance of heart health. After all, that heart of yours is not only a symbol of love — it’s key to your health, longevity and vitality. #OurHearts