February is American Heart Month which strives to bring awareness and assessment tools to individuals and health providers for prevention of the #1 fatal disease for men and women in the U.S.
The American College of Cardiology has joined with the American Heart Association to release a mobile app and web-based version assessment tool that calculates the lifetime risk of cardiovascular diseases, including stroke. It is called the ASCVD risk estimator. ASCVD or Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease is currently the primary cause of heart attacks and ischemic strokes. The mobile app can be downloaded for free from iTunes and Google Play app stores. The web version can be found at http://tools.cardiosource.org/ASCVD-Risk-Estimator/
Although early detection and treatment has lowered the number of preventable deaths, men are still 2x as likely to die from preventable cardiovascular disease than women.
Know the symptoms of a heart attack or stroke to help yourself and others. For example, F.A.S.T is an easy to remember approach for detecting the sudden signs of a stroke.
Face Drooping – Does one side of the face droop or is it numb? Ask the person to smile. Is the person’s smile uneven?
Arm Weakness – Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
Speech Difficulty – Is speech slurred? Is the person unable to speak or hard to understand? Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence. Is the sentence repeated correctly?
Time to call 9-1-1. If someone shows any of these symptoms, even if the symptoms go away, call 9-1-1 immediately. Check the time so you know when the first symptoms appeared.
The increase in the development of mobile sensor apps includes many that help you monitor your heart’s health. A description of some of the leading applications based on AARP can be found on their web site at http://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-01-2013/heart-health-mobile-apps.html
In addition, check out Million Hearts®, a national program to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2017. http://millionhearts.hhs.gov/index.html