Have you been payting attention?  Hopefully you’ve worn red to work and noticed the posters, flyers and promotions for Heart Health month by the American Heart Association.  This well publicized program targets those of us, especially women, who need an extra push to pay attention to our own health.  Come on, you know you’re more likely to be one of those people than not!  The addition of the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) Million Hearts program adds some simple guidelines that are easy to remember, even if we have a hard time following them.

The CDC recommends following your ABCS:

  • Aspirin for people at risk – Ask your doctor is this makes sense for you.
  • Blood pressure in check – If this is an issue, make sure you have a home BP cuff.
  • Cholesterol management – Standard cholesterol tests and more advanced ones such as the VAP and PLAC tests can let you know how aggressive you need to be.
  • Smoking cessation – There are so many ways to kick the habit.  You just need to pick the right one for you.

These four major steps help to address cardiovascular disease, the leading of death in the United States.  In addition, cardiovascular disease and stroke are the leading cause of disability preventing people from leading full lives and enjoying time with their families. 

Women are at a higher risk than many of us are aware of.  Women are used to taking care of their families and putting their own health last.  What we, as mothers and caretakers, may not realize is that putting our health at risk is a terrible way of taking care of our loved ones.  What would they do if we weren’t around to take care of all the little things?  Saving yourself is the most important thing you can do to be the best mother, partner, and daughter you can possibly be.

Take these American Heart Association and CDC messages to heart and take control of your health today!

Written by www.labtestingnow.com