Sunday, February 7, 2010
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, a day that is symbolized with cupids and hearts.
The American Heart Association has denoted the month of February as American Heart Month, a reminder to focus on heart health. Out of our heart flows the love that we bestow on others on Valentine’s Day, so we need to take steps to keep that heart healthy and going strong.
While heart disease is often thought of as a man’s disease, it is the single leading cause of death for American women. Nearly twice as many women in the U.S. die of coronary heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular disease than from all forms of cancer combined.
St. John’s Mercy wants to help you love your heart with their Heart to Heart Fair, sponsored in part by The Boeing Company. Scheduled for Sat., Feb. 13 at St. John’s Mercy Hospital in Washington, Mo. and for Fri. and Sat., Feb. 19 and 20 at West County Center in St. Louis, the event is free. Information and online registration is available at www.stjohnsmercy.org.
Attendees will receive free heart-health screenings, including blood pressure and cholesterol and an opportunity to meet, speak with and learn from physicians and nurses who will be on hand. More than 1,400 women were screened at last year’s St. John’s Mercy St. Louis and Washington National Women’s Healthy Heart Fairs.
Denny DeNarvaez, president of St. John’s Mercy Health Center, is committed to investing in the health of the St. Louis community. “Each year at our Heart to Heart Fair, we meet women whose lives were potentially saved because of the health screenings that were provided. The screenings served as a critical wake-up call.”
As a woman, DeNarvaez understands the important role women often play in their families when it comes to health-related issues. “It’s exciting to see a whole host of women coming together around a common cause; they can move entire populations. Women go home and talk with their husbands and family members and are often the driving force behind health care decisions. We women are often too busy and have a tendency to take care of everyone else in our lives before we take care of ourselves; another reason why the Heart to Heart Fairs are so important – an event that emphasizes early detection and prevention, along with healthy lifestyle choices.”
When it comes to heart health, Caldwell Esselstyn, M.D., author of "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease" (www.heartattackproof.com) says “Heart disease is a toothless paper tiger that need never exist.”
Esselstyn argues that conventional cardiology has failed patients by developing treatments that focus only on the symptoms of heart disease, not the cause. His research has shown that, in the vast majority of cases, heart disease can be prevented and even reversed simply through dietary modification.
Esseltyn is passionate about the topic, “People in this country are eating themselves to death – the Standard American Diet is killing us, with heart disease being at the top of the list as a cause. Change what we eat, and heart disease and many other chronic, degenerative diseases no longer have to take their destructive toll.”
DeNarvaez and Esselstyn agree that lifestyle is a huge culprit in contributing to the alarming rise in disease and health care costs. DeNarvaez says, “Lifestyle: the way we live, with more limitations on exercise, unhealthy eating habits – all of our unhealthy lifestyle choices are major factors. The good news is that they are modifiable.”
As we women log-on to register and mark our calendars for the St. John’s Mercy Heart to Heart Fair, let’s remember to show the love – not only to others but to ourselves with the gift of early detection and prevention.
He who has health has hope; and he who has hope has everything - Arabic Proverb
Susan Benigas is co-founder and president of AMP It Up for Life, Inc., specializing in work site health promotions. She founded and directed Get Hooked on Health St. Louis by initiating a partnership between Charter Communications and the office of St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay. Benigas lives with her husband, Jon, in Town & Country. www.AMPforLife.com
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.