February, is considered American Heart Month, everyone across the country dons the color red in order to raise and spread awareness in hopes to help eradicate heart disease (cardiovascular disease) and stroke in millions of women all over the nation.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and minorities in the United States. Hispanic adults are more likely than white adults to have heart failure. Coronary artery disease and heart attack. Black women are more likely than white women to have a heart attack. Black adults are more likely than white adults to die from a heart attack.
One person dies every 34 seconds in the United States from cardiovascular disease.
In 2020, about 697,000 people in the United States died from heart disease—that’s 1 in every 5 deaths.
Heart disease cost the United States about $229 billion each year from 2017 to 2018 for health care services, medicines, and people not able to work or because they died.
Types of Heart disease
Coronary Artery Disease occurs when there is blockage of the coronary artery from cholesterol plaque and is the most common type of heart disease, killing 382,820 people in 2020. About 20.1 million adults age 20 and older have CAD (about 7.2%) In 2020, 2 in 10 deaths from CAD happen in adults less than 65 years old.
2. Heart Attack (myocardial infarction) occurs when the oxygen supply to the heart is cut off for a short or longer period of time. Someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds. Every year, about 805,000 people in the United States have a heart attack. Of these 605,000 are a first heart attack, and 200,000 happen to people who had a previous heart attack.
About 1 in 5 heart attacks are silent—the damage is done, but the person is not aware of it.
Cardiovascular Disease also includes angina (chest pain on exertion) and
stroke (insufficient or complete lack of oxygen to the brain due to blockage from plaque or a bleeding vessel).
3. Early Action Is Important for Heart Attack
Knowing the warning signs and symptoms of a heart attack
Shortness of breath
Weakness or fatigue
A general feeling of unease or discomfort
Sweating
Nausea or vomiting
Lightheadedness or dizziness
Mild pain in the throat or chest
Pain in the back or arms, like a sprained or pulled muscle
Take your medication as prescribed and read the labels to make sure that you are not suffering from medication side effects, these should be reported to your medical providers for further evaluation
Men this is extremely important, as so many men neglect to take their heart, and blood pressure medication because of the medication’s negative effect on their level of intimacy (sexual) activity.
check out these sites for more info:
Cardiovascular disease
Class of diseases Heart Disease Facts | cdc.gov
www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm
Sincerely,
Dr. Colleen Kilgore
Director of Health Ministry
Mountain View Baptist Church-Greenville
'My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge...'
Hosea 4:6
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