PORTLAND, Maine — February is American Heart Month. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the number one cause of death for both men and women.
Dr. Craig Brett, director of medicine at the cardiology department of Northern Light Mercy Hospital in Portland, told NEWS CENTER Maine heart disease is preventable, and there are some ways you can immediately improve your heart health: eating healthier, exercising regularly, and avoiding stress.
Brett said its important to always know your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar numbers.
"Unfortunately, we still have an epidemic of obesity in our society. Obesity can lead to other risk factors like having diabetes, having high blood pressure, having high cholesterol," Brett explained. "We have to keep working on those risk factors to try to minimize the likelihood of them causing heart disease."
Blood pressure checks can easily be done at a pharmacy, or even with your own automatic blood pressure monitor at home.
"Maintaining a healthy weight, eating a healthy diet, and staying active -- those are the best preventive measures we have," Brett said. "Sometimes, despite that, people as a result of some genetic factors can still run some high numbers that puts them at risk. Those are people that need to talk to their doctor and often times require medications."
Brett added that, during the pandemic, a lot of Mainers have not taken care of themselves as well as they could have.
"The sooner those healthy habits are established the better," he said.
"Blood pressure elevation is, for most people, something they don't feel, and so they don't think about it," Brett explained. "They can run high blood pressure for years or decades and not be aware of it. Meanwhile, all that time it's affecting blood vessels and increasing their risk of stroke or heart attack. So people certainly be occasionally checking their blood pressure and, if it's elevated, following up with their medical provider about that."