For over 60 years, February has been ordained American Heart Month, originally recognized by Lyndon B. Johnson's administration.
Tony Gregory, Ohio University’s assistant director of well-being and fitness, explained why designating a month to bring awareness to heart health is important.
“Having a whole month dedicated to heart health helps us stop and think about how important our hearts are and how much our daily choices matter,” Gregory wrote in an email. “This month gives us a chance to raise awareness, share helpful tips, and encourage people to take small steps toward a healthier lifestyle.”
Gregory said the health of your heart can help dictate the overall health of your body, which is why it is essential to build habits in your youth to ensure overall good health.
Megan Beatty, the director of HeartWorks, shared many tips and recommendations for students to build strong heart health.
Beatty said in conjunction with her background in exercise physiology, she always recommends establishing an exercise routine.
“The goal for this age group is 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity,” Beatty said. “Establishing those regular exercise habits is going to be a big factor in reducing your risk (of heart disease).”
As stress is another risk factor for heart disease, Beatty said it is important to manage stress with exercise and mindfulness techniques.
Parwinder Singh, a senior studying business analytics and entrepreneurship, said he has been conscious about his heart health since his freshman year of high school after he started having nosebleeds.
Singh said he incorporated daily habits to ensure a healthy heart, such as taking omegas, practicing meditation and staying active.
However, physical activity is not the only important factor to consider when it comes to heart health. Beatty said nutrition plays a huge role in overall heart health.
“Trying to eat a diet that is limiting those processed foods, limiting sugar and high-fat foods -- unhealthy fats and saturated fats -- eating lots of fruits and vegetables, trying to add as many unprocessed fruits and vegetables as you can, that will give you a lot of fiber,” Beatty said.
Beatty said she understands the occasional pizza or sugary treat is reasonable. However, she insists that it is important to keep a healthy diet day to day.
Additionally, Beatty warned against the use of nicotine, as this can directly negatively impact your heart health. She explained that it is best to turn away from smoking and vaping as these addictions are hard to break.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., with 702,880 deaths in 2022, according to the CDC.
Beatty said there are a lot of risk factors for heart disease, some of which are non-modifiable and out of our control.
“Typically, after age 55, your risk increases, so just knowing that is important,” Beatty said. “The other one is your family history. You should try to talk to your relatives and figure out if there is a strong family history of heart disease because if there is, your risk is going to be higher, as well.”
At the same time, Beatty described the array of modifiable factors that are in our control, such as smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, being overweight, being physically inactive and eating an unhealthy diet.
“The habits you build now will stick with you for life, so it’s worth making them good ones,” Gregory wrote in an email.
