World Heart Federation © Jason Joyce
Each year, more than 17 million people die from cardiovascular disease, mainly heart disease and stroke, making it the world’s leading cause of death. This year marks the 10 year anniversary of celebrating World Heart Day. In 2000, the World Heart Federation, a non-governmental organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, created the annual World Heart Day campaign to increase public awareness about the threat of heart disease and stroke.
The theme of the 2010 World Heart Day is ” Workplace Wellness: Take Responsibility for Your Own Heart Health”. There are simple ways to foster and promote healthy lifestyles in general and around the workplace. Engaging in healthy behaviors helps to control certain risk factors such as high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, and prevent heart disease and stroke.
Enliven Wellness Works is dedicated to keeping employees “heart healthy” with our workplace wellness services. We offer nutrition, smoking cessation and stress management classes, fitness classes, massage therapy and more. Allow us to help you start a wellness initiative at your workplace in honor of World Heart Day this year. For more information contact: jennifer@enlivenwellnessworks.com
10 Simple Steps to be “Heart Healthy”
Source: World Heart Federation
1. Healthy food intake – Eat at least 5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day and avoid saturated fat. Beware of processed foods, which often contain high levels of salt.
2. Get active & take heart – Even 30 minutes of activity can help to prevent heart attacks and strokes and your work will benefit too.
3. Say no to tobacco – Your risk of coronary heart disease will be halved within a year and will return to a normal level over time.
4. Maintain a healthy weight – Weight loss, especially together with lower ed salt intake, leads to lower blood pressure. High blood pressure is the number one risk factor for stroke and a major factor for approximately half of all heart disease and stroke.
5. Know your numbers – Visit a health-care professional who can measure your blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels, together with waist-to-hip ratio and body mass index (bmi). Once you know your overall risk,you can develop a specific plan of action to improve your heart health.
6. Limit your alcohol intake – Restrict the amount of alcoholic drinks that you consume. Excessive alcohol intake can cause your blood pressure to rise and your weight to increase.
8. Bring exercise to the workplace – Include physical activity in your working schedule – cycle to work if this is possible, take the stairs, exercise or go for a walk during your lunch breaks, and encourage others to do so too
9. Choose healthy food options- Ask for healthy food at your work canteen, or find nearby cafes or restaurants that serve healthy meals
10. Encourage stress-free moments -While stress has not been shown to be a direct risk fact or for heart disease and stroke, it is related to smoking, excessive drinking and unhealthy eating, which are risk factors for heart disease.
Tips:
- Take time for lunch away from your workplace to get some fresh air
- Have regular breaks during the day – try stretching or exercising for 5 minutes twice a day
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