By Tanya Hamel
In February, everywhere you look there are pretty little pink, white and red hearts. We celebrate the ones we love, and they celebrate us.
If you are like me, you may tend to dote on those you love and would easily take care of their needs before worrying about your own. It’s just something we do. I seem to justify buying something for my kids or my spouse much easier than buying something for myself.
It’s because we are constantly thinking about those we love. They bring us happiness, laughter and joy. We treasure them, as they treasure us. We’d never want to cause them pain or sadness. So what are you doing about you? Are you taking care of you? What if something where to happen to you? Wouldn’t you hate to think about their pain and sorrow if the worst should happen to you?
My point is simply this: It’s easy for us to take care of those we love, but we all seem to struggle with finding or making time to take care of ourselves.
February isn’t just about those cute little hearts, but that ever so important muscle that you cannot live without, your heart. February is American Heart Month. The American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) want to raise awareness and educate Americans on ways to prevent cardiovascular disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. Heart disease isn’t something that only old people have to worry about. In fact, it starts when you’re a teenager or young adult. Being obese during childhood can make the risk of heart disease higher when you become an adult.
But don’t worry, there are lots of great ways to prevent cardiovascular disease. Just 10 minutes of exercise every day will lower your risks significantly. 30 minutes a day is even better. This doesn’t have to be strenuous; in fact, it could be quite calming and stress-relieving, which is also an important factor for preventing heart disease. Finding ways to reduce your stress, such as deep breathing or even laughter, which helps your blood vessels expand and relax, will keep your heart working properly. Eating a colorful diet and limiting foods that are high in sodium, added sugars or trans fats will definitely reduce risk factors.
We at Health Alliance Northwest encourage you to take the time to take care of you. Check your blood pressure regularly, get a proper amount of sleep each night and avoid cigarettes. Getting yearly checkups with your primary care provider (PCP) and utilizing your member wellness benefits are tools we proudly provide to help keep your heart healthy for you and for your sweethearts.
So now that you know how to keep your heart healthy, what are you going to get your sweetheart for Valentine’s Day? Well, I can’t help you there, but now that you’re taking care of your heart, I do believe there will be lots of laughter and love to share for many more February’s to come.
Tanya Hamel is a Community Liaison for Health Alliance Northwest, serving Chelan, Douglas, Grant and Okanogan counties in Washington. Tanya was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. She loves the outdoors and spending time with her family and their 2 dogs.
Like this article? Feel free to respond to Outreach@HealthAlliance.org. Thanks for reading!