Full disclosure: I am a sorority girl. Not one that skulked around the edges, either — I was our philanthropy chair as a junior, and was in charge of retention as a senior. While I have drawn more close to my university alumni groups rather than Alpha Phi social groups in recent years, women’s leadership has always been a cause that is close to my heart. In my sorority’s case, that was literal, as Alpha Phi funds cardiac care research and has for some time embraced what became a national trend: National Wear Red Day, a way to support cardiac care research, particularly for women.
Of course some may ask why this movement focuses on women. It’s because cardiovascular disease in the U.S. kills approximately one woman every 80 seconds. EVERY 80 SECONDS. It also kills more women than all types of cancer combined.
The American Heart Association has some tips for having a healthier heart, which I wrote about this week and link to below. But this is my plea for you to wear red tomorrow and donate to cardiac care — for women’s health, and for everyone’s.
6 habits for a healthier heart
in honor of American Heart Month 2018
Most of us know that exercise improves your cardiac health — you get moving and your heart pumps more, which helps your heart remain strong. But what else can you do to improve your heart health?
A few years ago, the American Heart Association, or the AHA, created Life’s Simple 7: Seven ways to improve your cardiac health. One of those seven is exercising more. Your PT can help you create an exercise regimen to help you get moving, in the best way for your particular body.
Here are the AHA’s six other ways to make your heart stronger and healthier.