Which came first – Valentine’s Day or American Heart Month? It doesn’t really matter, they really go hand in hand. The single best thing you can do for a loved one this Valentine’s Day is to look after your own heart health – and to encourage them to look after theirs. This year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Million Hearts – a national effort to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes in the U.S. by 2017 – are encouraging Americans to know their blood pressure, and if it’s high, to make control their goal.
Uncontrolled high blood pressure is a leading cause of heart disease and stroke. In fact, more than 67 million Americans have high blood pressure. People with high blood pressure are 4 times more likely to die from a stroke and 3 times more likely to die from heart disease, compared to those with normal blood pressure. Learn more: Understanding blood pressure tests and what your blood pressure numbers mean
Here are several interactive tools to get a snapshot of your heart health:
- Try the Heart Attack Risk Calculator
- Heart Age Calculator
- High Blood Pressure Health Risk Calculator
What can you do to improve your heart health, lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk of hearth attacks or strokes? Here are a few ideas.
We have some good ideas for employers, too … here are some steps you can take in the workplace to improve your employees’ hearth health.
