February is American Heart Month

(KNSI) — February is often associated with hearts because of Valentine’s Day, but this is also American Heart Month to spotlight the risk factors associated with heart disease and raise awareness of the importance of taking care of your heart.

CentraCare Cardiologist Doctor Jamie Pelzel tells KNSI News that there’s a test people can take to measure their chances of having heart disease. “I will put a little plug in for calcium score screening because, it’s something that’s not covered by insurance, but it is a cheap and easy way to assess your heart health. That’s a great way to find out what your future risk of a cardiovascular event would be. Calcium is a way to easily measure plaque in your coronary arteries.”

He warns heart disease “is the number one reason for people in the retirement age or 65 and older to be admitted to the hospital. The number one expense for Medicare is congestive heart failure.”

Experts say to take care of your heart, quit smoking and maintain healthy body weight with proper diet and exercise, get a yearly physical and keep blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar in check.

For more heart health tips, click here.

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