America’s #1 Cause of Death is a Leading Cause of Death in Massachusetts

Massachusetts has a few leading causes of death including cancer, heart disease, unintentional injury, stroke, and chronic lower respiratory disease. One of those is the leading cause of death in America which is heart disease. One person dies every 33 seconds in the United States from cardiovascular disease.

Get our free mobile app

February is American Hearth Month. According to the CDC, this is a time when people, particularly women are encouraged to focus on their cardiovascular health. I recently spoke with Ellen Brady and Sophia Veinoglou from the cardiology team at Fairview Hospital in Great Barrington and they discussed simple steps that people can take to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease including simple regular exercise which includes the following:

•  vacuuming your house
•  working in the garden
• walking to the grocery store/walking in the grocery store
• parking your car far away and walking to your destination
• taking the stairs whenever you can
• walking a memo instead of faxing it
• dog walking
• finding a partner/friend to walk with

Ellen and Sophia stated that any way people can put movement into their lives is positive and will make a difference in reducing the risk of heart disease.

Other Measures Massachusetts Folks Can Take In Reducing the Risk of Heart Disease

The team also mentioned some other things people can do to help reduce the risk of heart disease including checking blood pressure (either at the physician's office/blood pressure clinics and/or buying a blood pressure cuff for home), healthy eating, reducing salt intake (including putting away the salt shaker and checking sodium levels on food packages) and getting cholesterol levels checked through a primary provider, knowing family history, and quitting smoking.

For more information on heart disease, prevention and more go here or call (413) 854-9736.