Check it

Hey bloggers,

I just gave a presentation to Lower Yellowstone REA about cardiovascular disease along with my cancer prevention, tobacco prevention, and nutrition and physical activity colleagues. It went well, but it dawned on me that I constantly talk about reducing your risk, but I never really told you how to determine your risk! Here are two resources you can use to determine if you are heart healthy, and what you should do to get heart healthy!

The first is My Life Check. This is a type of heart health survey you fill out that will determine what areas you are heart healthy in, and what areas need work. They ask you questions about your eating habits, physical activity, cholesterol, blood pressure, weight, blood sugar and your smoking habits. You don't have to have all the examples- I didn't know about my blood sugar and my cholesterol. It'll just suggest that you talk to your doctor about it. It kicks back a short list of things you can do to either get or stay heart healthy, and what your goal should be. My area that needs work? My diet. There's no surprise there! I'm a super picky eater and I cover everything with salt. I'm working on it! You can even save and print your survey results so you can keep track of your goals and progress.

The second is something just as important as knowing your personal risk. It's My Family Health Tree. This is a little family tree you can fill out to figure out how many relatives have certain health conditions like heart disease. Having a blood relative with one of these conditions means that you are at risk of developing these conditions too! It was scary to see just how many of my relatives suffered from cardiovascular conditions! Eek! If this doesn't motivate you to live a heart healthy lifestyle, I don't know what will!

That's all for now, I suppose. Before I go, I just want to remind you to e-mail me your heart health commitments to be entered into the Micah Marie Jewelry raffle! I would also like to thank the Richland County Extension Office for celebrating their Wear Red day yesterday!

From my heart to yours,

Red in Richland County