Matters of The Heart: The Leading Cause of Death in America

February is all about matters of the heart! Telling that special someone how much you love them with flowers or dinner or chocolate, right?! Yes, yes, that’s all true but matters of the heart for February go much deeper than that and if you’re anything like me, you had no idea! Here I am caught clueless on yet another fairly important beat in life. I’m talking of course about February being American Heart Month! Not gonna lie, last February, I couldn’t have cared less about this. Today though, I care immensely about American Heart Month and I’ll tell you why.

It’s quite possible that my view looks differently than yours, but here’s what’s been on my mind lately: why do we hear and see so little about heart disease in the news, on social media, in politics or just in daily conversation? I hear tons about gun control/violence and cancer being huge problems in our country, but what if I told you those two problems are not the leading cause of death in America?

According to statistics I found, the leading cause of death in America is heart disease. I would never doubt that cancer sucks and affects a ton of people, and I’m absolutely not going to debate gun control or deny that gun violence exists, however gun violence doesn’t come close to killing as many people as heart disease. Although, I do hear a ton about obesity in the news and social media and that obviously can lead to health problems such as heart disease, we must make “heart disease” a household phrase, just like these other hot-button topics are.

You may or may not know that my father died suddenly at the end of November, 2018. Although we all thought it was related to a recent surgery he had on his neck, we were stunned to see the coroner’s report come back with a cause of death being heart disease. Before that report, I had heard of heart disease. I knew it existed. It was nothing I was concerned with though, since it wasn’t in our family history and I couldn’t even recall anyone in our family having a heart attack. Let alone heart disease.

Immediately, after hearing the results of the report, we jumped on the good ole internet to research Atherosclerosis. Sure, my dad picked up a cigar habit the previous 5-ish years and had had high cholesterol in the past, but he had just gone through an entire physical in order to have his surgery. His cholesterol had been in check for years and the man was always moving around the ranch from project to project and riding his horses like it was his job.

After a tragedy I think it’s completely normal to search for a reason, find someone to blame, or want to find answers, dammit! But as with many other things in life, sometimes the “why” becomes insignificant. Maybe insignificant isn’t the right word, rather unanswerable. We can all (and we have) hypothesized on why doctors didn’t catch this, but here’s the thing; doctors are human, just like the rest of us. Although they do study for years to save lives and solve complex health problems, they’re still human. There’s no one to blame.

That has left me with a glaring question; what chances do I have of leaving my family too early from heart disease with no warning? It took me to a place of frantic internet research (which I don’t think is always a great idea). I mean, we’ve all been there, researching that weird stomach ache on WebMD, only to find out we have a brain tumor (insert eye roll). Then I came to my senses and looked at the alternative; I could actually go to my doctor to talk about heart disease and my state of health.

There I was, crying in the examination room, sitting on a thin piece of tissue paper, explaining that my family history changed, that I needed to know if I’m healthy, if I’m going to be around for my kids and my husband. Keep in mind, since I turned 40 last year I had a complete physical, with blood work and a lady check-up and the whole sha-bang, and the doc said I was healthy, but I needed to ask more questions.

Only after freaking out several times (both internally and very obviously externally) I went back to sanity. I went back to faith and intuition. I went back to common sense: I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, I know how to eat healthy and I stay fit. Honestly though? This just wasn’t enough. I thought over and over about how I could be okay with this silent killer in my family. My answer (at least today) is a mind shift, a change in my thought process, knowledge for myself and my family and sharing it with you.

Keep it simple

At first glance, “how to be healthy” is a shit-ton of info to take in and can be quite overwhelming…even for someone who has been working on being healthy for years. But here’s the thing: keep it SIMPLE!!! Obviously I’m not a doctor and don’t even play one on TV, although I have been hooked on Grey’s Anatomy since the first season. But seriously, if you keep it simple (no crazy diets or insane workout schedules) and use your common sense (you have a ton of it, I’m sure) then this whole heart-healthy lifestyle is a breeze! I love this infographic from the heart association that covers “Life’s Simple 7”.

Quit smoking

From my experience, most of us know what’s healthy and what’s not. Most of us know what choices we should be making. If you don’t know that smoking is bad for you, then I suggest you open your eyes and ears, because this information is literally everywhere. I know I know, it’s tough to quit, but not impossible. I was a pack a day smoker and quit cold turkey almost 13 years ago…and so can you!!

Whole-food eating

As for the food subject of eating healthy, this is infinitely better when you live by one simple rule: eat whole foods. If nature didn’t create it, then read the label and if you can’t pronounce it or it doesn’t sound like food, then don’t eat it, or just eat in small quantities and infrequently. Reading labels can be super confusing and overwhelming too, but again, keep it SIMPLE! If you eat mostly whole foods, there are no labels to read!! Talk about a time-saver (you’re welcome).

Move your butt

We have to take the focus of exercise off of just losing weight! Losing weight can be so frustrating. There are so many other benefits of exercise besides being skinny (mental health and heart health). Don’t complicate this, either; just move! Stop driving around the parking lot to find the closest spot- park in the back and walk! Don’t wait for an elevator to go 2 flights-hoof it up the staircase. Don’t sit on your ass during TV commercials, get up and walk around, do some push-ups or squats or fold some laundry. Anything! Just move!

Be your own advocate

No one, not even a doctor can make you do the hard stuff, like eating whole food and quitting smoking. Most likely, no one is going to make you a doctor appointment and drive you to it. And there’s a good chance that no one is going to ask the right questions about your body because they don’t know how it feels to be in your body! You must stand up for yourself and do the hard stuff, the uncomfortable stuff. Educate yourself on healthy food, healthy blood pressure numbers, a healthy blood sugar and cholesterol levels. It could save your life!

Slow down

I get it, you’re busy and barely get a minute to yourself and when you do get a minute to yourself, you’re most likely being distracted by social media or TV or your phone or email. Slowing down, doesn’t mean falling behind. It means taking a deep breath and checking in with your body. Slowing down and being aware of how you feel physically and mentally puts you ahead in the game of life. How will you know what questions to ask your doctor if you don’t practice mindfulness and pay attention to what your body is telling you?

You are important. Your health is important. People around you, want you around. I ask you to not only focus a bit more on your heart health but to please pass this on to more people. I was not aware of how huge of an issue heart disease is before my dad died from it. I never asked him, but I don’t think he was aware of it either.

Expect more blog posts about heart disease this month from me, and please share the information. I'll be expanding on my subheadings above!

#heartdisease #americanheartmonth