Lifestyle

February is American Heart Month! Did you know that people who have close relationships at home, work, or in their community tend to be healthier and live longer? One reason, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), is that we’re more successful at meeting our health goals when we work on them with others. NHLBI launched the #OurHearts movement to inspire us to protect and strengthen our hearts with the support of others.

Resolutions to get fit might garner the bulk of people’s attention come New Year’s Day. But resolution season also marks a great time for busy families to commit to spending more time together.

Devoting a little time every day to care for yourself can go a long way toward protecting the health of your heart. Simple self-care, such as taking a moment to destress, giving yourself time to move more, preparing healthier meals, and not cheating on sleep can all benefit your heart.

Cardiovascular disease claims more lives across the globe every year than any other disease or condition, and many of those fatalities are credited to heart disease. Though the terms “cardiovascular disease” and “heart disease” are often used interchangeably, the National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute notes that, while all heart diseases are cardiovascular diseases, not all cardiovascular diseases are heart diseases. This is an important distinction, especially as adults discuss heart and cardiovascular health with their physicians.

Losing interest in an exercise regimen is a situation many fitness enthusiasts have confronted at one point or another. Overcoming a stale workout routine can be simple for young athletes, whose bodies can typically handle a wide range of physical activities. That flexibility allows younger athletes the chance to pursue any number of physical activities when their existing fitness regimens grow stale. But what about seniors who have grown tired of their workouts?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average adult in the United States has a heart that is seven years older than it should be. “Heart age” is a metric used by the CDC to determine if an individual is at greater risk for heart disease than they should be at any given point during their adults lives. Factors such as body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, whether or not a person smokes or has smoked in the past, and if that person has diabetes all help to determine heart age. The CDC indicates that millions of people in their 40s and 50s who live in the United States have high blood pressure and more than 35 million U.S. adults are current smokers. Those variables increase heart age, making individuals more vulnerable to heart disease even in middle-age. Individuals interested in getting an estimate of their heart age can visit the Heart Foundation at heartfoundation. org.au/heart-age-calculator. Adults also are urged to speak with their physicians about their risk for heart disease and what they can do to lower that risk.