Heart Disease

Heart disease is the leading cause of a heart attack and one of several cardiovascular diseases affecting the heart and blood vessel system. Symptoms vary based on the type of heart disease you have. Visit the American Heart Association website for a complete list of conditions and prevention tips.

Adopting healthy lifestyle habits keeps your heart healthy and lowers your risk for heart disease. Here are eight steps to get you started:

  • Exercise daily to reduce your risk of heart disease. Physical activity helps to control your weight and reduces your chances of developing other conditions that may put a strain on your heart, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
  • Sign up for Walk Around Nevada and track your physical activity.
  • Follow a healthy diet that emphasizes a variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, poultry or fish and low-fat dairy.
  • Limit saturated fat, transfat, sodium, red meat, sweets and sugar-sweetened beverages.
  • Join our Nutrition Challenge or download our Half My Plate app:   
  • Your body circulates blood more efficiently when you’re at a healthy weight. Work with your doctor to determine your target body mass index (BMI).
  • Call the Nevada Tobacco Quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW or (1-800-784-8669) from a Nevada area code for free resources and support.
  • Meditation, aerobic exercise, yoga and mindfulness training are great ways reduce anxiety and help your heart.
  • Get tested at least once every two years to screen for high blood pressure.
  • If you’re age 40 or older, or between ages 18-39 with a high risk of high blood pressure, ask your doctor for a blood pressure reading every year.
  • Adults should generally have their cholesterol measured at least once every five years starting at age 18. Earlier testing is recommended if you have other risk factors, such as a family history of early-onset heart disease.
  • Having diabetes increases your chances of developing heart disease. Consider being screened for diabetes to know if you’re at risk for other heart problems.

To learn more about heart disease visit the American Heart Association or the Nevada Wellness website.

 

Million Hearts®

Heart disease and stroke are the first and fifth leading causes of death in the United States. Every 43 seconds, someone in the U.S. has a heart attack, and every 4 minutes, someone dies from a stroke. Million Hearts® is a national initiative with an ambitious goal to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2022.

We can all do our part in prevention by following the ABC’S of heart disease and stroke:

Appropriate Aspirin Use

Ask your doctor if aspirin will reduce your risk for heart attacks.

Blood Pressure Control

Arm yourself with the knowledge you’ll need to manage high blood pressure. The American Heart Association is a great resource.

Cholesterol Management

It’s always good to monitor your cholesterol numbers and work with your doctor to reduce your risk for heart attack and stroke.

  • If your cholesterol numbers are high, dietary changes may be necessary to reduce your risk. Follow these tips on heart-healthy fats from the American Heart Association.
  • For some people, lifestyle changes alone aren’t enough to reach healthy cholesterol levels. Learn more about drug therapy options.
  • Download our Know Your Numbers brochure to learn what your target cholesterol numbers should be.

Smoking Cessation

Smokers have twice the risk of heart attack as nonsmokers. Once you quit smoking, your risk for heart attack and stroke declines each year thereafter.

Find more national resources on the Million Hearts website.  

Barbershop Initiative

Taking the Barbershop Experience Beyond the Chair

 

In the United States, an estimated 44% of black men are diagnosed with some form of cardiovascular disease.  Black men also have an increased risk of stroke. To empower black men to adopt healthier lifestyle choices and reduce their risk for heart disease and stroke we have partnered with ten black-owned barbershops to create the Barbershop Health Outreach Project (BSHOP).

Participating barbershops include Fair Kutz, Blade Masters, Masterpiece Barber College, Masterpiece II, Executive Cuts, Hair Unlimited, Hats Off, Fade’em All, Expertise Barber School and 5 Star, which offer outreach and education including free blood pressure screenings, health education, and referrals to healthcare providers for those uninsured or without a medical home.

If you are interested in learning more or getting involved, please contact Amineh Harvey at (702) 759-0790 or email harveya@snhd.org.

For more information on where to get your blood pressure checked, please check our Community Calendar.

 

Cutting Edge News

Checkout our newsletter, “Cutting Edge News.” The newsletter is released on a monthly basis. Issues will feature topics related to managing your risk for heart disease and stroke,  tips on how to control your blood pressure and resources available in the community. Stay informed and be well.

Volunteers Wanted

The Barbershop Outreach Project is seeking volunteers to participate in our heart health initiative, measuring blood pressure and providing education in Las Vegas’ barbershop community.  Our ideal volunteers will be:

  • Health care professionals
  • Wellness professional
  • Medical students
  • Nursing students

For more information email harveya@snhd.org.

Beauty Shop Initiative 

Cardiovascular diseases, like heart disease and stroke, kill nearly 50,000 African-American women every year. Also, important to note, African-American women are less likely than Caucasian women to be aware that heart disease is the leading cause of death.

Here are a few unsettling stats:

  • Of African-American women ages 20 and older, 49 percent have heart diseases.
  • Only 1 in 5 African-American women believes she is personally at risk.
  • Only 52 percent of African-American women are aware of the signs and symptoms of a heart attack.
  • Only 36 percent of African-American women know that heart disease is their greatest health risk.

To empower black women to adopt healthier lifestyle choices and reduce their risk for heart disease and stroke we have partnered with beauty shops to create the Beauty Shop Health Outreach Project (BeSHOP). Beauty shops will offer outreach and education including free blood pressure screenings, health education, and referrals to healthcare providers for those uninsured or without a medical home.

If you are interested in learning more or getting involved, please contact Amineh Harvey at (702) 759-0790 or email harveya@snhd.org.

For more information on where to get your blood pressure checked, please check our Community Calendar.

Other Resources 

  • The Check it. Change it. Control it toolkit was produced through a collaboration between the Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians to address high blood pressure and cholesterol specific to African American families. It answers questions about why it is important to track blood pressure and cholesterol, provides tips for improving lifestyle behaviors and questions to ask a doctor. It also offers resources to help track and control blood pressure and cholesterol.
  • American Heart Month Communications Toolkit