February is American Heart Month

American Heart Month, celebrated in the United States in February, is a month when everyone should take the time to concentrate on heart health.

As the leading cause of death in the United States, heart disease causes one in four deaths every year across all demographics.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, one person in the country dies every 36 seconds daily from heart or cardiovascular disease. Roughly 659,000 people fall victim to heart disease every year, and the U.S. spends roughly $363 billion annually for medicines, health care services, and lost productivity due to heart attacks.

Risk factors that put Americans in jeopardy of heart disease include, being overweight or obese, diabetes, unhealthy diet, excessive use of alcohol, physical inactivity, smoking, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

Knowing those risk factors and ways to reduce them can lead to healthier lives and diminish the risk of cardiovascular diseases and heart attacks.

President Lyndon B. Johnson, who suffered a heart attack, first issued a proclamation in 1964 declaring February as American Heart Month. Every year since then, presidents have declared February as National Heart Month.

Recognizing American Heart Month is important because it reminds people to take care of their hearts, promotes heart health education, and raises heart disease awareness.