Our hearts. We don’t give them too much thought until something goes wrong. Well, for the most part, that’s how it goes. Heart health is something that is close to my, well, heart. My uncle and my dad have some issues and now I know I need to look after mine. Genetics play a role in the way your ticker works so I take exercise and good nutrition very very seriously. And you should too. The World Heart Foundation tells us that heart disease and stroke is the world’s leading cause of death, with 17.3 million people dying every year. This is a really big deal and one of the reasons I’m so pumped (the puns come too easily it would seem!) that today is World Heart Day.
Happy Heart Day everyone!
World Heart Day is an annual event that takes place on 29 September and each year has a different theme. This year it’s all about creating heart healthy environments. The places in which we live, work and play should not increase our risk of cardiovascular disease. So the idea is that 80% of premature deaths can be avoided by controlling what you eat, drink and to avoid smoking and of course, the one with which most people struggle; exercising. So move your bodies, people. There are so many ways to do it and you don’t have to belong to a health club or gym to do it. The focus this year is also on ladies and their health. So much emphasis is placed on educating the men as they are always at greatest risk, but ladies are at risk too, in fact cardiovascular disease is the number 1 killer of women worldwide. The World Heart Federation is calling all ladies to get active and they are getting excited about the way that football can help. The main reason is because football can really be played almost anywhere and we’ve known this for ages, just look around the world. The Beautiful Game for the fairer sex!
You can see this has got my full support and you shouldn’t roll your eyes at this one. We all have only one, we all it; now start to love your heart a whole lot more. And this is not just for your sake, but for the ones who love you too.