Focus for This Month
Heart Health Awareness
February is Heart Health Awareness Month, a nationwide observance first proclaimed in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Heart Month began as a national call to take charge of your heart health—a mission that continues today.
In the United States:
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups.
One person dies every 34 seconds from cardiovascular disease.
In 2023, 919,032 people died from cardiovascular disease. That's the equivalent of 1 in every 3 deaths.
Heart disease is costly. The cost of health care services and medications from heart disease amounted to more than $168 billion between 2021 and 2022.
There are some simple steps you can take to improve your heart health and reduce your risk for heart attacks.
Eat right for a healthy heart
Move
Manage your blood pressure
Manage your weight
Practice gratitude to manage your stress
Get enough sleep
Limit alcohol intake
Don't smoke
As a dialysis patient, these preventive measures are even more important as there is a direct connection between heart disease and kidney failure - specifically Type 2 disease and high blood pressure. By helping control these factors, you can reduce your chances of having a heart attack and increase your health and wellbeing while on dialysis.
There are a number of documents below that you can download and use for yourself. Also, check out our mindfulness meditation focused on the heart.
