February 16, 2011

We've been talking so much about Valentine's goodies these last two weeks that we haven't yet mentioned that February is Heart Healthy Month. Heart disease is still the number one cause of death in the United States and a major cause of disability.

Moreover, did you know that if you or someone you know is suffering from a form of heart disease, you may qualify for Social Security Disability benefits? Additionally, there are a range of sickness and disability benefits heart failure patients may be entitled to claim if they are unable to work.

Correspondingly, if you would like to learn more about disability insurance policies for people living with heart disease, researching common questions such as ‘what is disability insurance?‘ online is a fantastic way to get the answers you need.

Being unable to work can have financial consequences and therefore it is important to understand the different types of financial support and insurance that are available.

Even though heart disease is sometimes thought of as a “man's disease”, women make up almost 50% of heart disease deaths. This fact from the CDC is pretty alarming.

“Heart disease is often perceived as an ‘older woman's disease', and it is the leading cause of death among women aged 65 years and older. However, heart disease is the third leading cause of death among women aged 25–44 years and the second leading cause of death among women aged 45–64 years.”

The CDC also states that nine out of ten heart disease patients have at least one risk factor. Several conditions and lifestyle choices can put women at a higher risk, including:

• High cholesterol
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Cigarette smoking
• Overweight and obesity
• Poor diet
• Physical inactivity
• Alcohol use

We are all aware of the dangers that these factors can have on our health, yet it can be hard for some people to make that initial step to change. Many people avoid the simple task of taking daily vitamins and supplements to get their health up to standard. There are many websites created by professionals of heart health, such as gundry md and many more, that give advice on the best supplements to be taking to take care of your heart. But it doesn't have to be that difficult. Take smoking cigarettes, for example. The road to quitting is the aim of most people and some may like to make the switch to vaping first, and brands like voopoo could be the best place to turn, especially if you want to stop smoking tobacco and nicotine-infused products. In turn, this will prevent you from suffering from the effects that smoking can have on your health, making that first big change to living a healthier life.

As well as this, most of us know that our leading weapon against heart disease is a healthy diet and routine exercise. Heart disease is rampant in my hubby's family so cooking heart-healthy recipes is always on my mind when I plan our menus.

Last year, our physician recommended that my hubby get this book.

The DASH Diet Action Plan: Based on the National Institutes of Health Research: Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension

We did buy the book and found it to be very informative and helpful, so I would suggest it to anyone who may not know where to begin trying to lower their cholesterol and blood pressure.

And, this is an excellent cookbook from the American Heart Association.

American Heart Association Low-Fat, Low-Cholesterol Cookbook, 4th edition: Delicious Recipes to Help Lower Your Cholesterol

Here are Life's Simple Seven, seven heart health factors from the American Heart Association. You can get your assessment on Life's Simple Seven simply by taking seven minutes to answer a few questions to learn the state of your heart and what you can do to live a better life.

I took the assessment and it didn't even take five minutes. You can spare five minutes, can't you?

~LilSis