February is Heart Health Month: Learn How to Prevent Disease

February is Heart Health month and we're teaming up with other organizations to raise awareness about heart disease and prevention. In an effort to prevent 1 million heart attacks in the US by 2017, we're encouraging people to know their blood pressure and give tips to help them lower and maintain it if it's too high.

High blood pressure is a leading cause of heart disease, yet there are often no signs or symptoms to indicate when it's too high. That's why it's so important to schedule routine check ups and be aware of your blood pressure level.

How to Prevent Heart Disease  

In order to prevent heart disease, we recommend taking a proactive approach with your health.

• Schedule a routine checkup with your doctor 

Scheduling a routine appointment with your doctor is a great first step to learning your blood pressure. If you discover that your blood pressure is too high, don't panic! Your doctor will work with you to lower it and provide proper medication and help along the way.

• If you take blood pressure medicine, be consistent

Just like any other medication, it's important to take the prescribed dose as directed. To ensure you stay consistent, set an alarm on your phone to remind you to take your medicine at the same time each day.

• Alter your diet

If you're like the rest of America, you probably love salt. But your blood pressure unfortunately doesn't. Consider reducing your sodium intake, which will in turn reduce your blood pressure. That means opting for fresh meats rather than packaged. (Some cold cut packaged turkey breast can run up to 1,050 mg of sodium for 3 slices!) Avoid high sodium meat products by doing a little bit of extra research while shopping. Many brands are committed to providing products with much less sodium, so be sure to check your food labels. Also, choosing fresh fruits and veggies over frozen is another surefire way to keep your sodium intake low.

• Are you a smoker?

Smoking sucks - quite literally. Stop inhaling this dangerous drug and if you haven't started smoking, don't start! If you need help quitting smoking, talk to your doctor or check out articles online. Here's a great how to quit smoking source to get started.

Thanks for joining us today on our blog. For more useful information about heart health, check out what we're talking about on our Facebook page, or check out our CPR website.

Learn CPR 4 Life is a an American Heart Association approved training center. Our friendly and skilled staff has helped individuals and businesses learn CPR and lifesaving skills since 1998. We're located in Hesperia, CA. Contact us for more info: 760-947-2426.