Love Your Heart
February is American Heart Month
ABC's of Heart Health
In addition to Black History Month, February is also American Heart Month chosen for its association with Valentine’s Day. These national observances present a great opportunity to celebrate love and to focus on heart health. Staying active, eating healthy, and living a tobacco-free life help to keep the heart healthy.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is important to know your risk for heart disease and stroke. Taking action to reduce your risk can start with the ABCS of heart health:
- Aspirin: Aspirin may help reduce your risk for heart disease and stroke. But do not take aspirin if you think you are having a stroke. It can make some types of stroke worse. Before taking aspirin, talk to your doctor about whether aspirin is right for you.
- Blood pressure: Control your blood pressure.
- Cholesterol: Manage your cholesterol.
- Smoking: Quit smoking, or don’t start.
Source: Tobacco Section, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
Little Red Hats Made Special for Babies at Area Hospitals
By News 10
Posted: Fri 11:40 AM, Feb 16, 2018
LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - Little hats, big hearts - that describes a project at area Lansing hospitals. February is American Heart Month and volunteers for the American Heart Association are knitting little red hats for all babies born in Lansing hospitals in February.
The project raises awareness of heart disease. Heart disease is the number one killer of Americans and congenital heart defects, the most common type of birth defect in the country and the leading killer of infants with birth defects.
John Foren form Sparrow Hospital told News 10 that almost 4000 hats were knitted by volunteers from across the state. The hats will be given to all babies born at the 23 hospitals in February.
The hats are washed, sorted, and individually packaged with information for moms and babies before sent to the birthing units in area hospitals.
If you would like to participate in this program and make little red hats for 2019, information is available at www.heart.org/LittleHatsBigHearts.
Parents receiving hats are encouraged to post photos at #LittleHatsMI.
African American Heart Health
This February celebrate African American History Month. Learn about how heart disease, cancer, and stroke impact African Americans.
Heart disease, cancer, and stroke are the leading causes of death for African Americans.
Heart Disease and Stroke
1 in 3 deaths in the United States is due to cardiovascular disease. People of all ages, genders, races, and ethnicities are affected. However, certain groups—including African Americans and older individuals, are at higher risk than others.
Nearly half of all African American adults have some form of cardiovascular disease that includes heart disease and stroke.
High blood pressure is the leading cause of heart attack and stroke in the United States. About 2 out of every 5 African American adults have high blood pressure, and less than half of them have it under control. African American adults are much more likely to suffer from high blood pressure (hypertension), heart attacks, and stroke deaths than white adults. Individuals living below the federal poverty level are more likely to have high blood pressure compared with those living at the highest level of income.
Source: CDC. To read the full article, go to: https://www.cdc.gov/features/AfricanAmericanHistory/index.html
CDC finds ‘marked disparities’ in youth tobacco use by race and ethnicity
Youth tobacco use is highest among Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, who make up almost a quarter — 23.4 percent — of U.S. teens who currently use a tobacco product, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC found that “marked disparities in tobacco product use exist among U.S. youths by race/ethnicity.”
The findings reinforce the fact that tobacco use disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minorities, who have a long history of being targeted by the tobacco industry and face disproportionate burdens from tobacco-related diseases. Research has shown wide disparities in tobacco use among the largest racial and ethnic groups in the U.S.
However, “little is known about tobacco product use among youths from racial/ethnic groups other than whites, blacks, and Hispanics,” the report states. Those differences matter when it comes to measuring and preventing tobacco use.
To read the rest of the article findings, go to https://truthinitiative.org/research/cdc-finds-marked-disparities-youth-tobacco-use-race-and-ethnicity
Source: Truth Initiative: Inspiring Tobacco-Free Lives
Help is Available to Quit!
People on Medicaid can get any of the 7 quit smoking medications at no cost by visiting their health care provider and getting a prescription. Talk to your health care provider or call the Michigan Tobacco Quitline today. Quitting tobacco use is the single best thing you can do for your health.
The Michigan Tobacco Quitline is an evidence-based service that continues to provide free telephone coaching for the uninsured, pregnant women, residents enrolled in Medicaid and Medicare, veterans, cancer patients, and American Indians, and free nicotine replacement therapy to those who qualify.
The Quitline provides services including materials, text messaging, and referral to all Michigan residents. New this year is an online, interactive coaching program option. The same program that is available on the phone can now be done online with the Quitline’s specially trained web coaches.
Providers can refer their patients and clients to the Quitline, and individual tobacco users can contact the Quitline directly at 1-800-784-8669, or enroll online at https://michigan.quitlogix.org/.
Additional information, including a fax referral form for providers, is available at the website. Staff and providers in all health care settings can refer patients and clients to the Michigan Tobacco Quitline.
Eaton County Substance Awareness Advisory Group
Our Coalition has a special focus on the prevention of drugs, tobacco and alcohol use by youth.
Email: ecsaag@eatonresa.org
Website: http://www.eatondrugfree.org/
Location: 1790 Packard Highway, Charlotte, MI, USA
Phone: (517) 541-8749
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ECSAAG/