February is American Heart Month

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in America. CPR can triple a person’s chance of surviving if performed in the moments after cardiac arrest. Join the nation of lifesavers and be the  difference between life and death for someone experiencing a cardiac event. CPR, AED, and first aid classes are available here at church. Visit saintjameswarrenton.org/events to learn more and register.

Better yet, prevent one! Take control of your blood pressure and blood fat levels. Blood pressure is the tension in your arteries immediately after a heartbeat and just before the next one. Your arteries should relax between heartbeats. The numbers wander around with your activity, but the top one should be 140 or less and the bottom one 90 or less, unless your  prescriber says otherwise. Cholesterol is both high density and low density blood fats (lipoproteins) The low density fats cause plaque — coronary artery disease. You want your high density lipoprotein number to be high (over 40) because it can bind with the low density fat. Your low density lipoprotein number should be under 70, unless your cardiologist says otherwise. Lastly, keep your heart strong with 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week, in any combination that you will do.

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk