Every year in February, Kettering Health Network pauses to recognize American Heart Month. Take the time this month to make some heart-healthy changes for your whole family and beat back heart disease.
Keep your kids on a heart-healthy path
It’s never too early to start establishingheart-healthy habits for your children. While children rarely get heartdisease, the process leading to adult heart disease—the gradual buildup of fat,cholesterol, and other substances in the arteries—can begin in childhood. Thiscan put kids at future risk for a heart attack, or even a stroke, when theygrow up. The chances of this happening increase when kids develop heart diseaserisk factors such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, or high bloodpressure.
“The fastest growing age group for diabetesis children aged 13-18,” says Harvey Hahn, MD, cardiologist with KetteringHealth Network Heart & Vascular. “It’s important for parents to instillhealthy habits early in their children with a foundation of healthy diet andexercise. Make sure half your plate is fruits and veggies and plant-based wholefoods rather than processed or junk foods. Additionally, kids need tophysically play. Play and exercise should be prioritized over screen time.”
Kids who are six years and older need 60minutes of daily activity. Make being active a family activity. Go on walks orbike rides; play sports together; or engage in games together. Additionally,it’s important to make sure your children are getting regular check-ups. Alongwith assessing overall health, a doctor can check a child’s weight, bloodpressure, and cholesterol.
Earlyscreenings are even more important for women
While many people are aware of the risk ofheart disease in men, they often don’t realize that heart disease poses just asbig of a threat to women. In fact, heart disease is the most common cause ofdeath in both women and men in the United States.
One of the ways we can all help change thisstatistic is to become more educated on the value of heart screenings. Often,women are unaware that heart screenings play a vital role in their heartdisease prevention. Women tend to have different, more subtle signs of heartdisease than men. This means that, if a woman is forgoing heart screenings, herheart disease often won’t be detected until later stages, when it’s much harderto treat.
ButI have a primary care provider—am I still at risk?
Most women have a relationship with theirprimary care provider or OB-GYN that allows them to ask questions about theirongoing health and lifestyle. But if a woman shows no early warning signs ofheart disease, heart screenings are not a routine part of these primary careexams.
“With the heart screenings Kettering HealthNetwork offers, we can provide earlier detection for women who are not havingsymptoms,” says Barb Emrick, MS, PHCNS-BC, CCP, manager of the Center for Heartand Vascular Health at Kettering Health Network. “We make testing available andaccessible for people who want to be proactive about their cardiovascularrisk.”
How do I know my risk level?
According to the Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention, almost half of all Americans have at least one of threekey risk factors for heart disease:
- Highblood pressure
- Highcholesterol
- Smoking
If you have any of these risk factors, talkto your health care provider about which heart screenings may be mostappropriate. Some additional risk factors include:
- Diabetes
- Familyhistory of heart disease
- Eatinga diet high in processed foods
- Eatinga high-sodium diet
- Physicalinactivity
- Ahistory of high blood pressure while pregnant
- Certainautoimmune diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis or lupus
Never ignore discomfort
“The symptoms of heart disease in womentend to be atypical. A woman might experience a dull pain, shortness of breath,or unusual fatigue. Because symptoms are often less noticeable in women, manywomen don’t report to the emergency room right away,” says Barb.
But delay in treatment leads to worseoutcomes. “Women should never ignore any kind of discomfort from the waist up,”says Barb. “And by providing accessible, routine heart screenings, we canprovide early intervention.”
Learn more about heart health for the whole family at Kettering Health Network’s signature heart month event, A to Zumba, on February 12, 5:30-8 p.m. at Kettering Recreation Complex. Register today at ketteringhealth.org/atozumba
