As February comes to a close, we want to highlight American Heart Month: a month that aims to educate people about cardiovascular disease prevention, risk factors, and healthy lifestyle choices. American Heart Month serves as an opportunity to emphasize the importance of heart health and encourage proactive measures you can take to reduce your risk of cardiovascular diseases, including stroke and heart disease. Patients can take proactive steps to minimize risks of cardiovascular disease and hospitals and health systems can provide resources to patients who want to take care of their heart health.
Cardiovascular disease risk can be significantly reduced by following the ABCS:
- A – Take ASPIRIN as directed by your health care providers.
- B – Control your BLOOD pressure.
- C – Manage your CHOLESTEROL.
- S – Don’t SMOKE.
But there are additional steps you can take to protect your heart health: