As February comes to a close, here is an important message to carry through the rest of the year.  Know the signs and symptoms of a heart attack, it could save your life.  Heart attacks are the number one killer of women in the United States.  The way a heart attack presents can be different in men and women.
Thank you to Bedford Community TV for producing and airing my PSA, and thank you to Binnie Media for airing it on dozens of radio stations throughout New Hampshire.  

There are no surprises here, exercise is healthy for our bodies.  Every organ system benefits from movement... our brain and nervous system, our lungs, joints and muscles, lymphatic drainage and more.  But since February is American Heart Month, let’s spend a moment and look at some fun facts about heart health and exercise.

• Your heart beats about 100,000 times in one day and about 35 million times in a year. During an average lifetime, the human heart will beat more than 2.5 billion times.
• Your heart pumps about 1.5 gallons of blood every minute.
• There are 60,000 miles of blood vessels in your body
• Most heart attacks happen on Monday (eek!) 

A combination of aerobic and resistance training has been long known to help maintain and normalize blood pressure, heart rate and cholesterol levels. But did you know that exercise can help reduce inflammation throughout the body which can be a contributor to heart disease? Exercise also lowers your risk of obesity and diabetes which science shows is tied closely to heart disease! According to John Hopkins Medicine as published at Hopkinsmedicine.org here are some additional benefits of exercise:

• Improves the muscles’ ability to pull oxygen out of the blood, reducing the need for the heart to pump more blood to the muscles.
• Reduces stress hormones that can put an extra burden on the heart.
• Works like a beta blocker to slow the heart rate and lower blood pressure.
• Increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or “good” cholesterol and helps control triglycerides.​
• One more heart benefit to exercising if you're having fun - laughter. Laughing reduces stress which is bad for your heart.  As a bonus, laughter also gives a boost to your immune system!
  

​If you haven't had your 30 minutes of exercise yet, it's not too late, get out there! You can do it! Come join me at 43 Degrees North Gym for a great workout, or meet a friend at your local gym, park or recreation center!

Thank you to Binnie Media for producing this Choose Health Public Service Announcement in your studios and for airing it throughout January on WNNH, WJYY, WEMJ, WFNQ, WTPL, WNHW, WXLF, WTHT, WFNK, WHXR, WBYA and WZLF.

​Goals were set last month with new revamped energy from ringing in the new year. Now, in February, have your goals become harder to stick to? Maybe finding it hard to maintain the goals you set forth with great intentions. Maybe you feel as though you fell off the bandwagon relating to your health goals- and now there’s no hope. What if I told you that resetting your intentions and resetting your routine is easier than the first time that you did it?
 
We make goals because we see how one act or habit, or lifestyle change can shift our lives in the direction we envision it. Here are a few steps in how to reenergize your goals, bring them new light, and help make them stick.
 
Revisit your written down goals – Take a new fresh pen and paper to your goals rewrite them and for each goal add WHY you want to make that goal happen. Are you trying to reach 8K steps a day to help minimize your risk of heart disease and other chronic illnesses so you can live longer and enjoy more beach days, stay feeling young, fit into some jeans better, or thrive with your grandchildren? Whatever your reason is, write it down with your goal, because your purpose is larger than your routine or many other obstacles you may face.
 
Reflect on what happened – What became difficult for you to maintain when facilitating change into your days? For me, there were unaccounted for stressors that I did not properly time manage, there for did not properly energy manage. When waking up at 5am to workout is my goal, but I found myself stressed doing work and awake at 11:14pm, it became difficult for me to manage my energy expenditures properly. I took time to reflect and create hard rules to help me maintain my goals…
 
Create some rules – After reflecting, you can probably think of a few things that derailed you and your aspirations to meet a goal. Now, just like if you were a teacher wanting a better functioning classroom environment, you create rules to follow. Create rules to maintain an environment for yourself to make things happen. My new hard rule: no screen time past 7pm, therefore no stressing about school, emails, or other obligations that can wait till morning. Maybe your hard rule is to eat at home more so healthier options are more available and easier or eating your lunch undistracted, so you have time for a lunch break walk.
 
Let’s spice it up now – Is there something on your mind that you feel you forgot or neglected when creating your goals? Something you heard a friend was incorporating into their routine that sounds appealing to you? ADD IT to your goals! New workout class came out in your town that you want to try? ADD IT to your goals! There’s never a better time than now to add goals to better yourself.
 
This reflection on the month of January and meeting intended goals is an opportunity you can utilize regularly. Hiccups happen, long weeks happen, sickness happens, your goals will wait but how long will you wait to work towards them and accomplish them. Set them with intention and know you have the determination, grit, and integrity to become the person you envision through your action steps.  

February is American Heart Month as proclaimed by President Biden, so let’s look at fun facts about heart health and how the Choose Health pillars build a happy, healthy heart.
EAT WELL: It is no surprise that limiting junk food, fried foods and soda is a smart first step for heart health.  You can also add healthy things to your plate, like more colors! The American Heart Association recommends including a fruit or vegetable in every meal or snack.  We wholeheartedly agree.
MOVE MORE: The heart is a muscle and exercise helps to keep it healthy. Your heart beats about 35 million times in a year. During an average lifetime, the human heart will beat more than 2.5 billion times!  A combination of aerobic and resistance training has been long known to help maintain and normalize blood pressure, heart rate and cholesterol levels.  Make a goal to get at least 30 minutes of movement daily.
THINK POSITIVE: Did you know that most heart attacks happen on Monday?  Stress hormones are hard on your body, especially your heart.  During American Heart Month make it a point to address stress in your life.  If you’ve never meditated, try using a “guided meditation” found online or download a free app like Mindvalley or Let’s Meditate.
SLEEP BETTER: Short sleep duration or poor sleep quality, is associated with high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and atherosclerosis according to the American Heart Association.  Strive to get 7-9 hours of sleep per night, but if you’re young, you may need more.  Start tonight!
LIVE CLEAN:  Smoking is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.  When you breathe in smoke, your blood becomes contaminated with some of the 7,000 toxic chemicals found in cigarettes, which the FDA says can damage your heart and blood vessels.  Quitting smoking now will reduce your risk of heart attack, stroke, blood clots and more.
For more heart healthy ideas, go to the American Heart Association at www.heart.org
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