Dallas ISD Goes Red for Heart Health Month

Because heart disease is one of the most common chronic conditions among people living in the United States—as of 2018, 30.3 million adults have been diagnosed with heart disease—Dallas ISD is promoting heart health with information and a series of activities. Love your heart and join in! 

Go Red for Women

Friday, Feb. 5, is national Go Red for Women Day to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease that affects women and save lives. According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 killer of women – and too many women, particularly our youngest most diverse women, remain unaware. The price of cardiovascular disease is high, and 1 in 3 women will pay that price with their life. Losing even one woman is simply not an option.

Wear read on Friday and learn more about how cardiovascular disease affects women by watching “Heart to Heart: Why losing one woman is too many,” a panel conducted by the American Heart Association.

Heart healthy activities

Keeping heart health in mind is not just a one-day affair. Dallas ISD is planning a series of activities and ways to help staff can be heart healthy:

• Keep an eye out for a heart-healthy recipe and the opportunity to share your own heart-friendly culinary creation or adaptations.
• Keep a healthy heart in mind the week of Feb. 15-19 by wearing red. Employees may choose one day that week to wear jeans if they wear a red top.
• Keep track of your steps for the month with health apps on your phone or fitness tracker. At the end of the month, send a screen capture of your monthly step average to benefits@dallasisd.org. The top five with the greatest monthly step averages among campus staff and top five among central staff will be recognized in The Beat and get a surprise.
• Keep reading informative articles to improve your heart health.

Catch some Zs for your heart

Early to bed early to rise doesn’t just bring you wealth and wisdom, it can also lead to good heart health. According to medical experts, getting enough sleep is critical for healthy heart function.

How much sleep do you need?

There is no right answer but, generally, experts recommend adults get a solid seven hours of sleep a night for peak performance during the day and to maintain healthy mental and physical functions. Unfortunately, not everyone gets enough sleep. According to the Centers for Disease Control, one in three American adults say they don’t get enough sleep daily, which can lead to conditions that affect the heart and cardiovascular health.

High blood pressure: Normally when we sleep our blood pressure lowers, giving your cardiovascular system time to rest, but among people who don’t get enough sleep or have difficulty sleeping, blood stays consistently high putting stress on the heart and leading to hypertension—75 million Americans suffer from high blood pressure.

Type 2 diabetes: Diabetes is a disease that causes sugar to build up in our blood, a condition that has the potential to damage blood vessels. Studies show that getting enough sleep may help people improve blood sugar control.

What to do for better sleep:

1. Stick to a consistent sleeping and waking up pattern, even on the weekends.
2. Get some sun.
3. Get enough daily physical activity and try not to exercise in the hours before bedtime.
4. Avoid artificial light; use a blue light filter on your electronics, especially close to bedtime.
5. Don’t eat or drink a couple of hours before bedtime and avoid alcohol and high fat/sugar foods.
6. Keep your bedroom cool, dark and quiet.