Marie Gahler, Senior Manager, Weight and Nutrition Education Services

February is American Heart Health Month, a time to realize how prevalent and deadly heart disease is and learn whether our behaviors have us on the track to health or on the track to disease. On Valentine’s Day, we often think about our hearts in an abstract, romantic way, but it’s also a great time to take stock in our lifestyle and think about how our daily decisions affect our physical heart – the most important muscle in our body.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States; one in every three deaths is from heart disease and stroke, equal to 2,200 deaths per day. Though you may not have heart disease, many of us know someone who does or did and realize how devastating a disease it can be. For me it was my father who had high blood pressure and arthrosclerosis and died in his mid 60’s – an age that is not that far off for some of us.

As is the case with many health conditions, our genes do make a difference in our likelihood for developing heart disease. But there’s good news - there are many lifestyle behaviors that contribute significantly to the health of our heart and circulatory system. These behaviors mean that we actually have a significant amount of control over our heart health. For the first time, the American Heart Association has defined what it means to have ideal cardiovascular health, identifying seven health and behavior factors that impact health and quality of life. We know that even simple, small changes can make a big difference in living a better life.

Known as “Life’s Simple 7,” these steps can help add years to your life:

1. Don’t smoke
2. Maintain a healthy weight
3. Engage in regular physical activity
4. Eat a healthy diet
5. Manage blood pressure
6. Take charge of cholesterol
7. Keep blood sugar, or glucose, at healthy levels

As an Alere Wellbeing employee, it certainly feels good to know our programs address each of these 7 areas. Every day we talk with people who are working towards meeting these goals and we are able to help them. In September 2011 the Department of Health and Human Services launched the Million HeartsTM initiative that aims to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes in the U.S. over the next five years. They intend to do this by:

• Empowering Americans to make healthy choices such as avoiding tobacco use and reducing the amount of sodium and trans fat they eat. These changes will reduce the number of people who need medical treatment for high blood pressure or cholesterol—and ultimately prevent heart attacks and strokes.
• Improving care for people who do need treatment by encouraging a focus on the "ABCS"—Aspirin for people at risk, Blood pressure control, Cholesterol management, and Smoking cessation—four steps to address the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease and help to prevent heart attacks and strokes.

This second point – treatment - is something we as Alere employees can help with too. We commonly encourage our participants to follow all doctors’ orders. Many individuals with high blood pressure and high cholesterol don’t follow doctor’s orders and fail to take their medication or monitor their blood pressure. At our suggestion we can aid in making sure they understand the importance of getting regular medical treatment and taking all prescribed medication.

For more information on Alere Wellbeing's products and services,  visit www.alerewellbeing.com/our-services