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Heart Health Awareness: Know Your Symptoms

large_1413435090 2Did you know that one out of every four deaths is caused by heart disease? February is Heart Health Awareness month, and we believe it’s important to do our part in creating awareness.

As you may know, we work with lots of heart health clients. We’ve learned that often symptoms of heart disease are ignored. A recent study by one of our clients demonstrated that one in three Americans would ignore a quiver in their heart, a symptom of atrial fibrillation, or wait for it to happen again before taking action. Another study showed that three in five consumers with no self-reported prior heart disease diagnosis experienced heart disease symptoms at some point and did not visit the doctor as a result of their symptoms.

Would you dismiss a quiver in your heart or another symptom of heart disease?

Listen to your symptoms

As the abovementioned studies concluded, often people ignore symptoms of heart disease. Many others have symptoms of heart disease and don’t know it. This isn’t a complete list of symptoms, but these are three things you should pay attention to incase they happen to you:

  • Fluttering or abnormal heart rhythms. Many people interpret fluttering as a sign of stress when it could be a distress signal from your heart. If this happens to you, it doesn’t hurt to have it checked out.
  • Unexplained fainting. Often people think they are overexerting themselves, or are having harmless bouts of fainting. If this happens to you, go to your doctor and have them take a look at your heart.
  • Pressure in your chest. This is another symptom people sometimes correlate with stress. If you have pressure in your chest, go to the doctor.

Wellness includes prevention

Even if you seem healthy, taking care of your heart before you have signs of heart disease is a good idea. At BRG, we are big believers in wellness. One of the components of wellness is preventing illness by taking steps to maintain good health. Preventative steps can reduce risk for heart disease in many cases. Here are some examples:

  • Talk to your doctor if you have a family history of heart disease. Go all the way back to your grandparent’s generation.
  • Go in for regular heart health screenings. Even if you’re young, blood pressure screenings and cholesterol tests can help you make healthier decisions for your heart.
  • Eat healthy and natural foods. Try to include heart healthy foods like fish high in Omega-3 fatty acids and oats in your diet.
  • Make sure you exercise. It’s been proven that 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day can help reduce heart disease. That exercise can even be done in 10-minute intervals.

What do you do to take care of your heart? Tell us in the comments!

Please help us spread awareness about heart health by sharing this post with your friends.

Photo Credit: erix! via photopin cc