I think this is my favorite week of the challenge — encouraging exercise and activity for everyone in the family. American kids ages 8-18 spend an average of 7.5 hours a day using entertainment media including TV, computers, video games, cell phones and movies. That puts them at all sorts of risk — high blood […]
21
Sep 2014
14
Sep 2014
This week’s EmpowerMEnt Challenge is a little bit harder that last week’s for the heart-loving foodie — find ways to reduce the salt. The bad news: there is WAAAY too much salt in the American diet. According to the Mayo Clinic, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend limiting sodium to less than 2,300 mg a day […]
12
Sep 2014
If you start running for health or because it is on your bucket list (or to lose baby weight like I did, seven years ago), the first question, real or in your head, is always “are you going to run a 5K?” Once you’ve done that, the question becomes “how about a half?” and when you’ve […]
08
Sep 2014
This week’s EmpowerMEnt Challenge is an easy one — replace sugar-added drinks with water. Or, if you want to take it further, cram your blender full of green goodness and get five + servings of veggies and fruits in one delicious gulp. I’m a major fan of green smoothies (see this post on my other […]
31
Aug 2014
The start of a new school year is the perfect time to get back into a healthy schedule — enough rest, enough exercise, healthy food, and good habits. Starting tomorrow, the EmpowerMEnt Challenge of the American Heart Association calls on families to start preventing heart disease in the next generation — right now and at […]
27
Aug 2014
“Heart disease is a lifestyle disease that can be largely prevented through healthy choices.” You may have seen that phrase or heard it — I certainly have, and to some extent it is true for those privileged enough to have choices. But what about those for whom there are no choices — who live without […]
14
Aug 2014
Today is the third anniversary of the day that I ceased to be me, just me, and became me, the survivor. And what’s extraordinary about today is that it was totally, in every way, ordinary. I worked (at home; no childcare today). I made breakfast and lunch for my boys. I escorted a tentative new […]
27
Jul 2014
I like this new Go Red for Women video, because it is something we can all do. Tell other women to know their risk, know the signs, and seek care. Because the women in our lives are one of our biggest strengths.
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May 2014
Did you know that high blood pressure during pregnancy is very highly correlated with heart disease later in life? I didn’t either, until after my heart attack. Not sure the ER doctors or possibly even the cardiologist I first saw that day were aware of this critical risk factor. When I was pregnant with my […]
21
May 2014
There are about two hours left of my 30s, and while my husband has been gleefully rubbing it in all day long, I wasn’t thinking much about it until I had some alone time in the car tonight (running errands and dropping off/picking up kids, natch). And mostly I was thinking about what I will not miss […]
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