Taking care of our tickers should be a top priority year round, but it is in February that we take particular care to focus on heart issues. It is National Heart Month, and it brings about some troubling statistics.
In the time it took you to load this website, browse article headlines, click on this one, and read the first paragraph, someone died from a coronary event. According to the Center for Disease Control, it will happen again in a minute, and then again the next minute.
It's hard to imagine so many people's hearts failing so rapidly, but that's why heart disease has been and continues to be the No. 1 cause of death in the US. Over 1.2 million Americans had a coronary event last year.
Heart disease affects men and women in nearly equal proportions. Here are some facts from the CDC:
- In 2007 heart disease claimed the lives of 306,246 females and 309,821 males.
- Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women over age 65, the third leading cause of death in women aged 25 to 44, and the second leading cause of death of women aged 45 to 64.
- The average age for a man's first heart attack is 66. Those below the average are at great risk: nearly half of those who have a heart attack before 65 die within 8 years.
- More than one in four deaths in 2006 was due to heart disease.
Unfortunately, heart disease is sometimes consider a man's disease even though the statistics point to similar trends among women.
Even people who show no previous symptoms of heart disease can be at risk. The CDC reports that half of men who die of sudden coronary events have displayed no previous symptoms. That number jumps to two-thirds for women.
It is important to maintain heart health, then, and get check-ups, even if you don't think you're at risk.
Raising Money for Heart Health
If your organization would like to raise money for heart awareness, there are a number of ways to solicit donations. The American Heart Association has a number of ideas on its website.
These include placing engraved memorial bricks on the Heritage Brick Wall, a vehicle donation program, and even a program that will help you raise money in your neighborhood. You can also hold heart health seminars that will help educate your community about the symptoms or heart disease and what you can do to treat and prevent it.
The CDC website is full of information that you can use in these seminars. Afterwards, you can ask participants for donations to the American Heart Association.
And remember, February 4 is wear red to work day, so make sure you have your favorite red sweater ready.
