On September 29, the World Heart Federation is celebrating World Heart Day to bring awareness of cardiovascular disease and ways to Use Your Heart to improve your health and the health of the world. Join RxLess and your community in making World Heart Day a heart-healthy day!
Goals for World Heart Day
World Heart Day was created to raise awareness of the causes and treatments of cardiovascular disease (CVD). CVD causes more than 18 million deaths worldwide, and is the number one cause of disease-related deaths. Most of these are due to heart attack and stroke.
Heart disease can strike anyone anywhere, but it is especially deadly in low- and middle-income countries and low- and middle-income communities in wealthy nations. World Heart Day wants everyone to focus on making changes that will improve heart health for everyone no matter where they live or what their lifestyle is. The three pillars for heart health this year are:
- HUMANITY. Use your heart to support treatment options in low- and middle-income communities.
- NATURE. Did you know air pollution contributes to up to 25% of CVD deaths? Use your heart to contribute to planetary well-being.
- YOU. Stress can nearly double your risk of heart attack or stroke. Use your heart to take care of yourself by learning healthful coping mechanisms to reduce your stress levels.
Heart Healthy Habits
Your heart is the toughest muscle in your body. It starts working before you're born, and doesn't stop working your entire life. Doctors estimate if you live to be 70, it might beat 2.5 billion times before it's through. You owe it to your heart to take care of it.
To do that, you should know some of the risk factors and ways to avoid or treat them. Some of the most common and easy to avoid are risky behaviors like smoking, bad eating habits, and a stressful lifestyle. You can also have hereditary conditions like high blood pressure or a predisposition to heart disease. That's why it's important to share all your conditions and medications with your doctor and pharmacist.
High Cholesterol
You may have heard about 'good' and 'bad' cholesterol. Cholesterol is naturally produced by your body and is important for healing and transporting nutrients around your body. Too many fatty foods increase the levels of 'bad' or LDL cholesterol.
If you have high cholesterol, your doctor may recommend medications called statins (atorvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin and simvastatin) to lower your cholesterol levels. Statins work by reducing the amount of cholesterol produced by your liver. You should also talk to your pharmacist about over-the-counter supplements and healthy eating habits to lower your cholesterol naturally.
Diabetes
Because of the way diabetes damages the nerves and blood vessels, people with diabetes are more than twice as likely to have heart attacks or strokes as those who don't have diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is linked to being overweight, to high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, all of which can lead to CVD.
Before you get too scared, controlling diabetes, especially Type 2 diabetes, can be done by a regimen of diet, medication, and exercise. Glucose monitoring 'is becoming more common and painless through the use of a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) such as the FreeStyle Libre 2 Sensor or DexCom G6, and can be used by people with all types of diabetes to regulate sugar and fat intake.
World Heart Day Every Day
Every day should be a heart day, whether you have CVD or know someone who does. RxLess has the top ways to save money and save your heart. Your RxLess discount card can help you get your prescriptions at any local pharmacy. CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid are all part of your heart support team.
Remember World Heart Day is September 29. Use your heart for Humanity, Nature and You and get your savings and top tips for wellness from RxLess and your pharmacy too.
