Health District commemorates American Heart Month
joins Million Hearts™ campaign
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 29, 2015
LAS VEGAS – Love your heart . . . love your loved ones . . .heart disease remains the leading cause of death in Nevada and across the country. In 2012, more than 5,000 Nevadans died from heart disease. To commemorate American Heart Month, the Southern Nevada Health District’s office of chronic disease prevention & health promotion is joining the national Million Hearts™ campaign to prevent more than one million heart attacks and strokes in the United States. Beginning Monday, Feb. 2, the health district will launch a coordinated social media awareness campaign that provides information, tips and resources to promote cardiovascular health on its Get Healthy Clark County website, www.GetHealthyClarkCounty.org and in Spanish on its Viva Saludable site, www.VivaSaludable.org. Information will also be distributed on the health district’s social media sites on Twitter, Facebook and the Get Healthy Clark County blogs.
Free blood pressure checks will be available at the health district’s main facility, 330 S. Valley View between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Friday, Feb. 6; Friday, Feb. 13; Friday, Feb. 20; and Friday, Feb. 27.
Heart disease facts:
- Approx. 600,000 people in the US die of heart disease (about 1 in 4 deaths)
- Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women
- Approx. 720,000 Americans have a heart attack – 515,000 are a first heart attack
According to the 2013 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS), 38.6 percent of Nevada adults surveyed were told they had high cholesterol and nearly 30.6 percent were told they had high blood pressure (BRFSS 2013). Additional information is available on the American Heart Association site, www.AmericanHeart.org and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), www.CDC.gov.
The Million Hearts™ initiative was launched in September 2011 to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes over the next five years. It is led by the CDC, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and additional federal agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health and private sector partners such as the American Heart Association and the YMCA, among others. Million Hearts™ brings together heart disease and stroke prevention programs, policies, and activities to raise awareness among health care providers, private-sector organizations, policymakers, and consumers about what can be done to prevent heart disease and stroke. Information about the Million Hearts initiative can be found by visiting: http://millionhearts.hhs.gov.
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.