What Does Your Heart Say
Published on Columbia Inspired Magazine
If your heart could talk, she just may ask if you’ll be taking her outside for a walk to enhance her function. She may ask if you could take up meditation to calm down and be still, as she is working overtime due to high stress. If you still aren’t listening, she may give you some symptoms to watch out for like the acronym PEBS (like a pebble in your shoe) short for Pain in the neck, jaw, arm, or face, Extreme exhaustion/fatigue, Breathing heavily/short, or Sweating and upset stomach. She’ll want you to know if you have those symptoms, you may be having a heart attack.
Many women would not connect those symptoms with heart attacks. They wouldn’t call 911. Education and awareness of these signs could save lives.
February is heart health awareness month and www.heart.org, www.goredforwomen.org and www.womenheart.org are getting the word out! Here’s a sad fact: over half the women in the U.S. don’t know that heart disease is the #1 killer of women. Most women don’t realize that cardiovascular disease takes more lives than all forms of cancer combined!
February is also Black History Month. Your heart would want you to know almost 59% of African Americans over the age of 20 already have cardiovascular disease (CVD). CVD kills more than 50,000 women annually according to Go Red for Women. Recent statistics show a gene can make black people more sensitive to salt which then increases blood pressure and impacts heart health. For Hispanic women, almost 41% have high blood pressure, almost 78% are overweight or obese, and nearly 43% already have CVD (source: gotedforwomen.org).ALL women of any ethnicity can benefit from embracing a heart wellness plan with proactive lifestyle choices. Here are some tips to get you started on your heart wellness journey.
PREVENTIVE TIPS AND TOOLS
PAUSE – Take time daily to pray, meditate, and be still for mental balance and peace.
MOVE – Movement is medicine, so go out for a walk, march in place, or swim.
CONNECT – Friendship affects CV risks and being with friends helps nourish the heart and soul.
LESSEN STRESS – Actively pursue Yin Yoga, acupuncture, or massage.
LAUGHTER – Laughing is good medicine, and it helps reduce inflammation and lower the risk of heart attacks (source: www.theguardian.com).
BREATHWORK – Breathwork helps with focus, calm and clarity. Try this simple breath sequence: inhale 3, hold 5 then exhale completely for 8. Need a little more calming? Try Box Breathing. The sequence is: Inhale 4, Pause 4, Exhale 4, Pause 4.
