American Heart Month: Be Heart Healthy!

February of each year is observed as American Hearth Month – it is the time to show yourself the love by learning more about heart attack risk factors, symptoms and treatments and by making changes to achieve better heart health. We at CompAndSave.com are not just a leading online store for high quality compatible ink, toner & printer accessories, but also a company that recognizes its Corporate Social Responsibility. As a part of this social responsibility and the need to give back, we joined in the fight against cardiovascular disease, the No.1 single biggest killer in the country.

CompAndSave Against Heart Disease

Last year as a part of our endeavor to support the fight against heart disease, we donated $1 from each ink purchase to the American Heart Association to support their efforts at disseminating information and improving treatment protocols. In 2014, we donated $9,290 on your behalf via the website and another $1,000 on your behalf through Facebook likes. The total contribution of $10,290 is equivalent to each one of these: 1) placement of more than 9,000 AED locators, 2) 514 families learning about good health habits, 3) or 21 doctors getting up to date on stroke treatment and prevention.

We also gave away free T-shirts as a part of our campaign to increase heart heath awareness, which is estimated to reach about 344,000 people. Our FB posts during that time also centered on the theme of being heart healthy as another step fight heart disease. Please check out our “Print with Love To Heal Broken Heart: By the Numbers” infographic we created after our American Heart Association fundraise, or see it below:

Why Heart Health Is Vital

According to the CDC, Cardiovascular disease (CVD)—including heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure—is the number 1 killer of women and men in the United States. It is also the leading cause of disability among the people and results in a poorer quality of life that curtails one’s activities at personal and professional level. The cost to the exchequer is high too: heart and heart related illness cost the United States $300 billion each year when you count medical costs and add lost productivity.

Here are some rather alarming statistics relating to heart disease:

Heart attack risk factors

1. About a third of all men and women have some type of CVD
2. 3 million men and 3.8 million women have had a stroke in their lifetime
3. Heart disease is (wrongly) thought of as a men’s disease, but in fact more women than men undergo bypass surgeries
4. High blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking are the three biggest risk factors for CVD
5. Heart disease kills more women than all forms of cancer combined

Here’s How You Can Get Involved This February

If you want to spread awareness about CVD this Heart Month, be a part of National Wear Red Day which is scheduled for February 6, 2015. This is the day to honor all the women who suffer from heart ailments. The idea is to try and save the lives of 1 in 3 women who die of stroke or heart attack each year. This is important because we tend to think of heart attacks as happening to men more than women; whereas heart attacks are the NO 1 killer of women in the country. Wear your support, and learn how to take swift action in case of a disease or a stroke.

How to Remain Heart Healthy

Making simple changes to your life can help you achieve better heart health:

1. Be Active and get regular exercise at least five days of the week
2. Eat healthy by including plenty of fresh fruit, veg, whole grains and lean protein in your diet and by cutting out processed, packaged food to the extent possible.
3. Get quality rest and control stress; learn to relax

So what do you plan to do this Heart Month? How to do plan to do your bit to spread awareness and what changes do you plan to make to the lifestyle of your family and yourself to achieve better heart health?

We’d love to hear about some of your ideas below in the blog comment section or on our official Facebook page. If you’d like to know more about our future projects, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter.