5 Reasons to Wear Red in February
Over the years, the month of October has become synonymous with the color pink and Breast Cancer Awareness month. It’s everywhere—from professional sports teams donning pink gear to your favorite soda introducing a limited-release pink can. Breast cancer, and all cancers, are horrible, devastating illnesses that greatly affect the lives of many. But there’s a […]
Support Your Heart with Weight Training
By Ryan Lawson, Exercise Specialist When we think of heart health, often times we picture eating better and including regular cardiovascular exercise into our daily routine. Did you know research has shown that, when appropriately prescribed and supervised, resistance training has positive effects on your muscles, as well as cardiovascular function, metabolism, coronary risk factors […]
DASH for Heart Health
By Katie Boscia, MS, RD The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet, known as the DASH diet, was designed to help prevent and lower high blood pressure. If you follow this diet and add in some exercise, you can lose weight and reduce your risk for strokes, heart disease and kidney stones. The DASH eating […]
Exercise Your Heart Today
By Ryan Lawson, Exercise Specialist A sedentary lifestyle is one of the worst things you can do to your heart. Your heart is a muscle and, like any other muscle, the more you use it, the stronger your heart becomes. Research is continually showing a correlation between regular cardiovascular activity and heart health. Some of […]
High Blood Pressure: “The Silent Killer”
By Mindi Matthews, director of Health and Wellness at Riverview Health High blood pressure is a very common and dangerous condition. About one out of three adults in the US—or 67 million people—have high blood pressure. However, only about 47 percent of these people have their blood pressure controlled. High blood pressure is called the […]
Heart Health Facts and Tips
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. More than half of the deaths in men in 2009 were due to heart disease. Every year 720,000 Americans have a heart attack. Of these, 515,000 are a first heart attack and 205,000 happen in people who’ve already had a heart attack. […]
Early Action is Key to Heart Health
Knowing the warning signs and symptoms of a heart attack is key to preventing death, but many people don’t know the signs or are in denial that they’re having a heart attack when it happens. About 47 percent of sudden cardiac deaths occur outside the hospital, which suggests that many people with heart disease don’t […]
Sodium: Shake it Off!
By Katie Boscia, MS, RD, IBCLC February is National Heart Health month, which is a reminder to pay closer attention to the amount of sodium you consume. Many people think that by reducing their sodium intake from the saltshaker, they’ll be fine. In reality, most of the sodium we eat—approximately 75 percent or more—is consumed […]
Heart Health: Know Your Numbers
Making sure you’re on the right track to maintaining a healthy heart is as simple as knowing five little numbers: blood pressure, blood sugar, body mass index, cholesterol and waist size. By regularly monitoring these five things, you can quickly see when something is abnormal so you can follow up with your doctor. Blood Pressure […]