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| February is Heart Month |
(IRN)-It's unlikely that any of your candy hearts this Valentine's Day have the word "excuses" on it. But February is heart month, and the American Heart Association is reminding women to stop making excuses about heart disease, the No. 1 killer of women.
"Women tend to ignore the early warning signs because we don’t want to be seen as histrionic, we don't want to be seen as complainers, we don't have time, there's no babysitter for the kids, I've got to get dinner done," said American Heart Association Advocacy Committee member Kemia Sarraf. "We have all sorts of excuses, but the truth of the matter is that they should never be ignored, because it can be deadly."
Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Damon Arnold says certain life choices can reduce the risk of heart disease.
"The good news is that through awareness, more people are taking necessary steps, literally, to lower their risk by giving up smoking, eating a balanced diet, maintaining a healthy weight and leading a physically healthy lifestyle," he said. "Together, these lifestyle changes can lower a woman’s chance of heart disease by more than 82 percent."
Sarraf says awareness is the key.
"There is something each one of us can do," she said. "We can educate each other, we can educate our children, we can choose to make healthier choices regarding the foods that we eat, the number of activities that we do during the day. There are choices that we can make. This is not a fate. We are not fated to heart disease."
To take a heart health checkup or for more information, visit the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women website at www.goredforwomen.org.
(Source: Illinois Radio Network) |
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| 02 14 11 by Newsroom |
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