heartThe American Heart Association sponsors American Heart Month in February each year. Heart disease is cited as a leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, accounting for one in four deaths every year nationwide.

Heart Disease Prevention

Heart disease prevention is the focus of American Heart Month, encouraging Americans to make healthy choices and manage health conditions to enhance heart health and prevent heart disease.

Individuals, health care providers and communities are all resources for spreading the word to raise awareness of heart disease prevention; and effective actions that can be taken. Working together to create opportunities to make heart-healthier choices is another focus of American Heart Month.

Setting aside the month of February to raise awareness of heart disease and suggested prevention activities to implement both at home and in the community can go far towards increasing heart health.

Families are encouraged to begin increasing heart health by making small or simple lifestyle changes contributing to better health. Eating more nutritious foods, mild daily exercise, cutting back or quitting smoking, losing weight if needed, and not indulging in moderate or excess alcohol consumption are just a few of the actions an individual or family could take.

Educators and administrators are encouraged to ensure physical activity is an every-day activity for students. Educating students as to the importance of exercise in keeping the body fit and healthy, including the heart, could help set the stage for a healthier adulthood.

Community healthcare professionals are encouraged to step forward as community leaders, using their position and knowledge to speak in their communities on preventing heart disease, and ways in which people can do that that.

Heart Health and Addiction Recovery

Drug abuse is linked to adverse effects on the cardiovascular system—the heart and blood vessels. Depending on the drug, the consequences can range all the way from abnormal heart rate to heart attacks.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports that cardiovascular problems stemming from injection drug -include bacterial heart-valve infections, blood vessel infections, and collapsed veins.

Drug use and abuse, depending on the specific heart-affecting drug being abused can lead to a number of adverse effects. These include increased heart-rate, irregular heartbeat, disturbances in heart rhythm, increased oxygen use by the heart muscle, increased blood pressure, infection in the heart valves and lining of the heart, cardiac valve disease, enlargement of the heart’s left ventricle, heart attacks, heart failure, cardiac arrest, and death.

Raising awareness of drug-abuse heart-health risks is an important part of addiction recovery. It opens the door to understanding what actions a person can take to help get healthy after addiction. The following is a basic guide to heart health:

Reduce Stress

According to WebMD, stress raises blood pressure and heart-rate. Identify sources of stress in your life which may stem from situations at work, a toxic relationship, or too much of the 6 o’clock news. Isolate the sources you can do something about. It doesn’t need to heroic, and can even be as simple as turning-off the news, or as important as cooling-off a “bad-news” relationship.

Eat a Heart-Healthy Diet

Fresh vegetables and fruits are important, and organic is the best choice. A diet rich in fiber is beneficial, and fiber from oats, beans and barley are thought to be a good choice. Each person is an individual with dietary likes and dislikes, so it is wise to educate yourself on a diet that is heart-healthy for you.

Maintain Your Optimum Weight

Carrying excess weight stresses the heart, and the musculoskeletal system. Determine your optimum weight, and set a goal to reach it with a good diet and an exercise program which suits your lifestyle.

Exercise

Exercise can help you increase your overall physical health and well-being. Choose an exercise activity you enjoy, and which is appropriate to your age, health and physical condition.

Use Moderation

Use moderation in your consumption of sugar, caffeine, alcohol and tobacco. Work towards dropping alcohol and tobacco out of your life completely for improved long-term heart health.