By Alex Lemon
Did you know about 2,200 Americans die each day from cardiovascular diseases? That’s about one every 40 seconds. Shockingly, cardiovascular diseases claim more lives than all forms of cancer combined.
February was American Heart Month, and it is never too late teach your family and friends that cardiovascular disease can often be prevented by making healthy choices and properly managing their existing health conditions.
You can all work hard to live healthy through cooking fun and healthy meals with your family, learning more about physical activity opportunities, and promoting smoke-free environments. As part of these efforts, you can proudly participate in American Heart Month, every month. Take this opportunity to raise awareness about heart disease and increase knowledge about prevention!
Sharing this information is important because about 80% of cardiovascular disease can be prevented by taking control and following everyday healthy living steps that include:
- not smoking
- physical activity
- good nutrition
- maintaining healthy weight
- controlling blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose levels
For more information about cardiovascular disease and to stay on top of heart health and other health news, follow us on Twitter @UCMHealthComm, and like UC Merced Communication, Culture, and Health Research Lab on Facebook.
