Jeri Wohlberg, FNP, Medical Director, Northern Counties Health Care
February is American Heart Month, when we raise awareness about heart health, specifically heart disease. Heart disease is the number one killer of adults in the United States and can largely be prevented through healthy lifestyle. Research shows that regular exercise, a heart healthy diet, managing high blood pressure and avoiding smoking are important building blocks for health. Other focuses of American Heart month are: National Wear Red Day, CPR training, and resource sharing. Let’s break each of these down a little further.
- Regular exercise: Aim for 150 minutes of exercise weekly. This is ideally 30 minutes daily, but even 10 minutes can make a difference. Start out slowly and increase time and intensity as you are able. Try to get a mixture of cardio and strength training. Make it fun by going with friends or listening to music. Walking counts!
- Heart healthy diet: Increase fruits and vegetables in your diet, aiming for 5-7 servings daily. Limit saturated fats (like full fat dairy products and red meat) and limit salt. Eat more whole grains (brown rice, quinoa) and less processed foods (many packaged foods). Completely avoid empty calories like sugar sweetened beverages. The Mediterranean and DASH diets are good places to start.
- Manage medical issues: See your primary care provider on a regular basis to monitor blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol. High blood pressure is the leading cause of heart disease, and nearly half of US adults have high blood pressure.
- Smoking: Smoking contributes to cardiovascular disease. There are resources to help you quit at 802QUITS
- National Wear Red Day: Wear red the first Friday in February to raise awareness about women’s heart health. Heart disease is the #1 killer of women!
- CPR training: CPR saves lives. Become certified to learn this lifesaving skill
Lifestyle change can be hard, but there are programs to help support you! My Healthy Vermont workshops offer education and support around diabetes and high blood pressure management, healthy eating, adding exercise to your daily routine, and quitting smoking.
Check them out here: My Healthy Vermont
