February 2026

When most people think of February, they think of Valentine’s Day with roses and chocolates flooding our advertisements and stores. And while chocolate hearts are amazingly delicious to consume, February is also an important month to remind us about the non-chocolate hearts located in our bodies. American Heart Month occurs every year in February to remind us the importance of keeping our hearts healthy.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US. Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common type of heart disease, killing 375,476 people in 2021 and causing around 800,000 heart attacks. About 1 in 20 adults age 20 and older have CHD with 2 out of 10 deaths from coronary artery disease occurring in persons less than 65 years old.

There are many things that contribute to developing heart disease. Genetics can play a role, but for the majority of Americans, our daily lifestyles and habits are the biggest culprit. Highly processed and fatty foods, such as fast food, microwave meals and many non-perishable boxed items contain high amounts of simple carbohydrates, added sugars, salts and fats that increase our blood sugar and cholesterol, leading to weight gain, fat storage, elevated blood pressure and body inflammation. Studies have shown the best diets to reduce cardiovascular disease risk are the DASH diet and the Mediterranean Diet.

Tobacco users are 2 to 4 times more likely to get heart disease than non-tobacco users. Tobacco cessation is one of the best benefits you can do for all over health. There are many ways to stop smoking including nicotine supplements and prescription medication. Some states have programs that will help provide free information to get you started.  Call the Missouri Tobacco Quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW or  https://smokefree.gov/build-your-quit-plan to register for services.

Having a healthy heart is not just about preventing heart attacks and strokes but also increasing screening, identification and control of high blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes. Other preventative strategies include developing healthy habits such as smoking cessation, losing weight and exercising, aiming for at least 150 hours of moderate activity a week. If you already suffer with heart disease, make sure you are following up with your medical provider and/or cardiologist and taking your medications as prescribed to reduce the risk of progression. For everyone else, make sure you are scheduling your routine visits to your medical provider for regular screenings. This may include blood pressure checks, monitoring blood sugars and cholesterol labs or undergoing coronary artery calcium score CT scans depending on your risk.

If you like more information about prevention of heart disease, you can visit the CDC’s website on heart disease at:  https://www.cdc.gov/heart-disease/prevention/index.html or The American Heart Association website which has heart healthy recipes that you can try: https://recipes.heart.org/en/