American Heart Month

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups. According to most recent statistics, one person dies every 37 seconds in the USA from heart (coronary artery disease, heart flutter, hypertension, and heart attack) diseases. About 647,000 Americans die from heart disease each year—that is 1 in every 4 deaths.
In the United States, someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds. Every year, about 805,000 Americans have a heart attack, of these,
• 605,000 are a first heart attack
• 200,000 happen to people who have already had a heart attack
• About 1 in 5 heart attacks is silent—the damage is done, but the person is not aware of it

The most frequently seen risk factors that cause increased occurrence of cardiovascular diseases are the following:
• Smoking
• Obesity
• Hypertension
• Diabetes
• Chronic Kidney disease
• Increased Low-density Lipoprotein Cholesterol

These high prevalence rates of risk factors and various cardiovascular diseases amongst the population has led to an increase in utilization of certain expensive healthcare services such as the emergency rooms, urgent care, and hospitalization. Despite the genetic predispositions, there are steps that can be taken to prevent heart conditions to become worse. Some of these steps are the following:
• Annual Physical exams
• Nutritional or diet changes such as 98% lean meat
• Follow-up appointments, if you have a diagnosis of Diabetes or Hypertension
• Drink at least half a gallon of water every day or eight 8-ounce glasses
• Reduce caffeine intake
• Reduce alcohol intake
• Talk to your provider to quit smoking

If you or a member of your family has any of the aforementioned heart diseases or risk factors, speak to your primary care provider now.

For more information, visit www.wshc.org