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(ARA) - When it comes to heart disease and women, awareness is shockingly low and occurrence, frighteningly high. But the support of friends and family can make all the difference. According to the On the Pulse of Women’s Heart Health Survey conducted by the makers of Berry Burst Cheerios, nearly 80 percent of women say a strong support network would make them more likely to take better care of their heart health. As a result of this telling statistic and others equally as decisive, the brand known to help lower cholesterol has teamed up with heart disease survivor turned inspirational author Kristine Breese to urge women to create a Circle of Healthy Hearts - a community of women committed to living heart-healthy and supporting each other along the way.
“I was young and active so I ignored a decade’s worth of symptoms until my heart failed at the age of 35,” says Kristine Breese, mother of two. “The Circle of Healthy Hearts serves to increase awareness and encourage action among women without ever having to be sick.”
The survey found that 70 percent of women think they are living a heart healthy lifestyle; but according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, one in three women dies of heart disease, making it the number one killer of women. Additionally, many women are not taking one of the easiest steps toward improving their daily diet. While 42 percent believe that “eating right” is the key to a healthy heart, approximately one-third are not aware that, as part of a heart healthy diet, soluble fiber found in foods such as whole grain oats, can help lower your cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease.
Breese is encouraging women to create their own Circle of Healthy Hearts by turning to loved ones - friends, family, and peers - to teach and motivate each other to be healthy and stay healthy. Just by taking these simple and enjoyable steps, you too can get better heart health:
Eat Right: Get together with friends once a month for a potluck heart healthy brunch. Ask “Circle members” to bring delicious foods that are low in saturated fat, low in sodium, and high in soluble fiber (for example, cereal with whole grain oats such as Berry Burst Cheerios).
Exercise: How about asking your monthly book club to combine their love for discussing books with their passion for enjoying the outdoors? Form a walking book club? Plan a different route each time and enjoy the outdoors while getting a heart-healthy workout.
Relax: Hire a baby sitter to watch the kids and hire a yoga instructor to lead the kid-free group in a session of meditation, deep breathing, and stretching set to relaxing music.
Courtesy of ARA Content
