February is American Heart Month
February is American Heart Month, and February 3 is National Wear Red Day which calls attention to the topic of women and heart disease.1 Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States and accounted for 25% of deaths in 2008.2 Within one year of having a heart attack, 42% of women will die as compared to 24% of men.3 Make the Call. Don’t Miss a Beat. is a campaign intended to draw attention to and increase awareness of seven common symptoms of heart attack and calling 9-1-1 in response to one or more symptoms.4 A person’s risk for developing heart disease can be influenced by factors such as family history of heart disease, levels of cholesterol and blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, diet and exercise. Increasing age can also be a factor in increasing risk for heart disease.5 Individuals can monitor blood levels related to predisposing conditions and can make changes to physical activity, dietary intake and tobacco use as ways of preventing or slowing the progression of heart disease.
Quick Health Data Online provides several types of data related to heart disease risk factors, morbidity and mortality. The site includes information on topics such as:
Adults ever experiencing a heart attack, stroke or coronary heart disease
Awareness of calling 911 for heart attack or stroke symptoms
Adults with high cholesterol
Cigarette smoking rates
Percentage of adults with high blood pressure
Heart disease mortality rates
Data are available by race, gender and across time and can be used to assess differences in behaviors, risk factors, and mortality among various population groups over time. The system can generate maps as well as charts and tables to present data such as age-adjusted Coronary Heart Disease death rates for males and age-adjusted Coronary Heart Disease death rates for females