It’s American Heart Month
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 1, 2018
LAS VEGAS – Love your heart and it will love you back! February is American Heart Month, and the Southern Nevada Health District is offering free blood pressure screenings from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at its main location, 280 S. Decatur Blvd. on Friday, February 2 and at its East Las Vegas Public Health Center, 570 N. Nellis Blvd on Friday, February 16.
The Health District recommends people learn the ABCS of heart disease and offering blood pressure screenings assists with “B” in this practice: Aspirin therapy as directed, Blood pressure control, lower Cholesterol levels, and quitting Smoking are steps to lower heart disease risks. The Health District also recommends people work with a health care provider to identify and address individual risk factors. By implementing changes to diet, increasing physical activity, and quitting smoking, most people can reduce some of their risk factors. The Health District’s www.GetHealthyClarkCounty.org Million Hearts page offers tools to put the ABCS into action.
Resources for follow up care, counseling and information about how to lower and reduce risks for hypertension, and prevention will be available as appropriate.
Heart disease includes several different conditions including heart failure and coronary artery disease as well as several related conditions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) About Heart Disease page includes a list of conditions and their descriptions.
According to the CDC, nearly half of all Americans have at least one risk factor for heart disease. These can include family history as well as lifestyle and age factors. Some risk factors for developing heart disease include high blood pressure, smoking, high cholesterol, physical inactivity, being overweight or obese, diabetes, or other metabolic diseases.
According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease, listed as the underlying cause of death, accounts for nearly 800,000 deaths in the United States, and that translates to about one in every three. For more heart and stroke statistics, visit the American Heart Association’s Heart and Stroke Statistics page.
In the United States:
- Nearly one in three American adults have high LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and 18.7 percent have low levels of HDL (good) cholesterol.
- Nearly half of people with high blood pressure, about 45.6 percent, do not have it under control.
- About one in three adults does not engage in leisure time physical activity.
- The prevalence of obesity among adults is approximately 37.7 percent.
Risk factors can vary among race and gender. For example, 43.4 percent of non-Hispanic white women and 43.1 percent of Hispanic males have elevated cholesterol levels of 200 or higher; 46.3 percent of non-Hispanic black women and 45 percent of non-Hispanic black men have high blood pressure.
The Southern Nevada Health District serves as the local public health authority for Clark County, Boulder City, Henderson, Las Vegas, Mesquite and North Las Vegas. The agency safeguards the public health of the community’s residents and visitors through innovative programs, regulations, and initiatives focused on protecting and promoting their health and well-being. More information about the Health District, its programs, services, and the regulatory oversight it provides is available at www.SNHD.info. Follow the Health District on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.