Colourful Palate

Did you know that February is Love Your Heart month? With all the hearts, chocolates, and flowers that inundate every store I walk into, I thought it was more like “Love someone else’s heart” month and then buy them 5 pounds of expensive chocolate

to prove it.

With my Exercise Science program at college, I’ve been refreshing myself on the importance of screening potential clients for potential heart or health problems, before I take them on as a client. As a personal trainer, it is vital to make sure you understand a client’s health history before you even think about designing them a training program. If someone has really high blood pressure or a high resting heart rate, everything about my style of training will change…if I train them at all. I’d probably send them over to a doctor for clearance first!

Our heart isn’t just what drives us, motivates us to compassion, or falls in love…it’s a physical muscle that powers everything we do, think, and say. It is the core of who we are…so it’s only right we take care of it!

This really hit home a few weeks ago, when one of my friends came into the gym. With tears in her eyes, she told me her boyfriend had a heart attack. Even though he was under 40 years old and one of the fittest, buffest men I could think of, he still was vulnerable to it. What a wakeup call! In Canada, heart disease is one of the leading causes of death!

So what factors influence heart health?

• Your heart age (find about it below!)
• Blood pressure levels
• Cholesterol
• Smoking
• Foods you eat
• How much exercise you get

How can we manage heart health?

• Stop Smoking
• Monitor your blood pressure
• Apply an active lifestyle
• Regulate your Cholesterol Levels
• Take Control

Shoppers Drug Mart told me about a campaign they were doing to get the word out to Canadians (you US people!) to know the risks of heart disease and strokes; it was something I really wanted to promote.

I went to check out this heart age calculator, and while it asks a lot of information of you, I think it’s really wise to get in touch with how well your heart is doing. We owe it to our bodies to take care of them and be wise stewards of what God has given us. It’s easy to take every breath or heartbeat for granted, but we shouldn’t! It’s a gift. So take the test to find out The True Age of Your Heart!

Click on the hearts to find out your heart’s true age!!

The Canadian Cardiovascular Society recommends calculating your cardiovascular age and knowing your cardiovascular risk profile to improve management of blood pressure and blood lipids.

• The Heart Age Calculator is an online tool that helps Canadians calculate their cardiovascular age and assess their risk of heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular disease within the next 10 years by answering simple lifestyle questions (like your height, age, weight, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, personal and family history, your daily habits and more).
• It is the only scientifically validated online tool available that provides a personalized heart age and cardiovascular risk profile as recommended by the Canadian Cardiovascular Society Guidelines.

I didn’t have all the info that they were looking for in the test, but with what information I had, my risk of having heart disease in 10 years was .9%. Comment below and let me know what your results were and let’s raise awareness this month to LOVE YOUR HEART! Knowledge is power, and we need to apply what we know.

What’s your score for heart health? Do you know anyone who’s had a heart attack?

Disclosure – Although this post has been sponsored by Shoppers Drug Mart Inc., the opinions and language are all my own, and in no way do they reflect the views, opinions or positions of Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. or its affiliates or licensees. Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. makes no representation as to accuracy, completeness, suitability or validity of any information within this blog post and will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information or for any losses, injuries or damages arising from its display or use.