Hearts, Flowers, and Heart Month
BY KIM THOMAS
It’s not all flowers and candy.
In February, we don’t just think of hearts for Valentine’s Day…we think of American Heart Month.
Cardiovascular disease — including heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure — is the number one killer of American women and men.
Like our good frenemy the snowflake, no two episodes of cardiovascular events will be the same. You may undergo *CABG (coronary artery bypass graft surgery), or be blessed with a new lease on life with a heart transplant, or need stents.
Every case stands alone and much can be derived from listening to heart patients and their stories.
Most heart patients share one thing in common — they didn’t realize they were about to become cardiac patients. That’s why awareness campaigns during American Heart Month can be so important.
The American Heart Association tells us the use of CPR dates all the way back to 1740, yet even today, most Americans don’t know how to perform it.
Cardiac arrests are more common than you think, and they can happen to anyone at any time.
Nearly 383,000 out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrests occur annually, and 88 percent of cardiac arrests occur at home.
Many victims appear healthy with no known heart disease or other risk factors.
The life you save with CPR is mostly likely to be a loved one. Four out of five cardiac arrests happen at home. Statistically speaking, if called on to administer CPR in an emergency, the life you save is likely to be someone at home: a child, a spouse, a parent or a friend.
Have a Ball!
The Central Kentucky Heart Ball 2022 is scheduled for March 5 at the Lexington Center at Rupp. Organizers say, “Together, we are relentlessly focused on the heart of our community. Through the Heart of Central Kentucky and Heart Ball campaign, we celebrate our collective success in driving change, funding science and improving behaviors – no matter where, or how, we gather. That means taking our efforts beyond the ballroom, working every day to help every heart.
“In more than 150 communities across the country, Heart of Central Kentucky and Heart Ball supporters unite with a shared purpose to raise the critical funds we need to ensure our work continues. Throughout our campaign we celebrate our milestones, we thank our sponsors and we honor our heroes. We come together to achieve something bigger than ourselves. We live fierce and fight for all.”
This article also appears on page 11 of the February 2022 print edition of Hamburg Journal.
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