Box Butte General Hospital Cardio-Pulmonary Rehabilitation Coordinator Jennifer Johnson, RN, is spearheading a two prong effort for heart health in celebration of February being American Heart Health Month.

The first goal is providing a community wellness event via a non-fasting coronary risk assessment on Thursday, February 21, from 9 a.m to 1 p.m. at the Cardio-Pulmonary Rehab Department in Suite 2107.

“Since the blood draw part of the assessment is non-fasting, those wishing to take advantage of the test can come any time of the day,” Ms. Johnson said. “Eating won’t affect the results. The lab test will provide cholesterol and high density lipids (healthy lipids) data used to determine individual risk ratios (along with blood pressure readings). There is a minimal $10 fee to cover lab costs.”

Risk ratio results will be sent directly to the people taking the test. Ms. Johnson said, “If your risk ratio is high, we certainly urge you contact your health care provider.” Results will be given within three weeks of the assessment.

“Another aspect of our American Heart Month celebration is providing information about the national Million Hearts initiative launched by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),” she continued. “People may have noticed our billboard at Third and Cody in Alliance featuring the Million Hearts logo and the slogan “Be One in a Million Hearts along with the web address millionhearts.hhs.gov. The billboard is there for a visual reminder to go to that site and learn all you can about heart health.”

She said the national initiative was started in September of 2011 and is designed to prevent 1 million heart attacks and stroke over five years. “They want to achieve this goal by lowering the number of people needing heart disease treatment by promoting the ABCS’s,” Ms. Johnson said. The acronym stands for Aspirin (for people at risk); Blood pressure control; Cholesterol management; and Smoking cessation.

Preventable risk factors for heart disease include inactivity, obesity, smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and Type 2 diabetes.  “There are seven preventable actions a person can do to decrease their risk for heart disease,” Ms. Johnson said. “Get active, eat better, lose weight, stop smoking, control your cholesterol, manage your blood pressure and reduce your blood sugar. As stressed before, heart disease risk management should be discussed with your medical provider.”

The reason for Ms. Johnson’s effort to educate and urge people to adopt a heart healthy lifestyle is simple. “The number of people in the United States who die from heart disease is staggering when you look at the statistics,” she said. Those statistics include:

• Number of people in the United States who die from heart disease: 2,200 each day; 800,000 each year (with 150,000 of those deaths under the age of 65)
• One in four deaths in the United States is due to heart disease
• One in three adults (80 million) in the United States have some form of heart disease, stroke, or other blood vessel disease
• Number of heart attacks and strokes that occur in the United State each year: 2,000,000
• Heart disease and stroke cost the nation $444 billion per year in health care costs and lost economic productivity  “These statistics can be found at the millionhearts.hhs.gov web site, along with a wealth of other information on heart health,” Ms. Johnson concluded. “I urge everyone to go to that site, since it has links to many resources that provide a wealth of information on heart disease prevention.”

Alliance Floral Hoffhaus has donated a sweetheart bouquet which will be available for raffle to cardiac risk assessment participants.

BBGH is a non-profit, county owned 25-bed Critical Access Hospital. The mission of BBGH is to lead and innovate in healthcare delivery and community wellness.

 The Million Hearts™ word and logo marks, and the Be One in a Million Hearts™ slogan and logo marks and

associated trade dress are owned by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Participation by Box Butte General Hospital does not imply endorsement by HHS.