Did you know that February is American Heart Month? It caught my attention, primarily because I have a wife and two young daughters that I would like to see happy and healthy, and be around a long time.
Read these sobering statistics from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, which is sponsoring an educational initiative in called "The Heart Truth":

• Heart disease is the #1 killer of American women (also #1 killer of men)
• 1 in 4 women die of heart disease
• Only a little over half of women, 55% in 2005, understand the risk factors associated with heart disease and how they affect them.
  

So what are the risk factors for heart disease? They include: obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and physical inactivity.
Sound like anyone you know? While every person needs to take personal responsibility to find out and understand their risks and take action to lower them, maybe this month you could give encouragement to someone you love.
It could be she is one of those 45% who doesn't even have heart disease on her radar; she has no idea that it could affect her.
While these topics are not always easy to bring up, what would be the benefit of having this conversation with your mom, or your sister, or your wife? Maybe reading this article has made you aware of the problem, and you want to do something about it.
Talk to your doctor, find out if you are at risk, and make some changes.
I have been affected by heart disease.
My grandfather had diabetes and multiple strokes.
My dad has diabetes and a history of high blood pressure.
I was headed down the same path, but by the grace of God made a decision to get off that path.
So what changes did I make? How did I lose 80 pounds, get my high blood pressure down, and get my resting pulse into athlete range? Two ways.

1. Regular Exercise: resistance and interval training.
   
2. Sound Nutrition: Increased my quality protein intake, starting eating low glycemic carbohydrates almost exclusively (dramatic reduction of grains and potatoes), and also paid attention to getting good fats (mono and polyunsaturated) from sources that I really enjoy - avocados, walnuts, and olive oil.
   Eating healthy isn't just good for you, it's just plain good eating!

Consistency in these two areas has turned my health and life around.
When it comes down to it, you have the biggest say in whether or not heart disease affects you, and to some extent even those you love.
Get the conversation going, with yourself or someone you care about.
If you can take steps to prevent heart disease, why wouldn't you? To find out more about "The Heart Truth" visit http://www.
nhlbi.
nih.
gov/health/hearttruth/