February: American Heart Month

While one could carp that we shouldn't be paying attention to various issues, movements and calls to action only during certain months of the year, having these various markers does bring heightened attention to important issues and problems...and that's a good thing.

I emerge from my winter hibernation to highlight one of these commemorative months now. (Actually I've been sick off and on throughout the month of January, and despite this being a health-focused blog, I was actually too bored with my own illness to even write about it...that's a first!)

So, February is American Heart Month, and as I hope you're aware heart disease is actually the number one killer of women in America...not cancer or any other cause. You'd be forgiven for not knowing that, though, given that heart disease and heart attacks are represented as very male problems in our popular culture and media. Try to think back and see if you can remember  a major TV show or movie that featured a female heart attack victim. Nope, they're always men.

Anyway, today is Wear Red day, as a visual and viral reminder, and Denise over at BlogHer had a roundup of some women bloggers and what they're writing about heart disease.

And in 2 weeks Sister to Sister, a non-profit dedicated to heart disease prevention, is sponsoring a series of health fairs across the U.S. that will offer free heart disease screening. More details are here. We do hear a lot about the epidemic of obesity in the U.S., and we're used to hearing the litany of potential health dangers associated with said obesity. But it's quite concrete that heart disease is the leading killer of women. That it affects women of color quite severely. And that it is, in many cases, reversible, treatable and most definitely preventable...with the right behavior, medical monitoring and sometimes treatment.

So have a heart, and take care of yours!

Comments

[Cory Kemp]

Right On! Wear the RED! Heart disease is not a joke, and it can happen to anyone, not just those whom are unhealthy. It's surprising who is afflicted sometimes. Thanks for raising awareness!

[Ira Weiss]

Vitals.com is helping the cause. Vitals is “Going Red” in February at http://www.vitals.com/focus/heart to support American Heart Month and promote the simple steps that Americans can take to improve their heart health through early detection and living well.As prevention takes center stage in the fight against heart disease, Vitals is the easiest way for consumers to access information on top specialists in their area free of charge, in order to quickly get checked out and seek the medical attention they need. Vitals features all of the critical information necessary for consumers to find the right doctor for them, including empirical information, peer review recommendations and
patient feedback, compiled into one central, all-inclusive database.Consumers can also use Vitals to check-up on their current doctors, including cardiologists and internists.