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Use these PowerPoint slides during online educational presentations or anywhere in your community with a screen such as waiting rooms, faith-based services, cafeterias and more. You can also print out and use as flyers.
#OurHearts eat healthier together. Get heart healthy for life by following the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan. It can help lower high blood pressure. It requires no special foods and provides daily and weekly nutritional goals. Support your loved ones in their effort to stick to DASH by doing the following together: pick out recipes to try, go grocery shopping for ingredients, cook heart healthy versions of family favorites, eat the meals you've prepared.
#OurHearts are healthier when we quit smoking together. Smokers are up to 4x more likely to develop heart disease or to have a stroke, compared to nonsmokers. But it pays to quit. Just 1 year after quitting, your heart attack risk drops sharply. Ask your family and friends for support or join a support group. Tell your family, friends, and coworkers that you're quitting and you want their help. Ask them not to smoke around you. They might catch the bug too: Research has shown that people are much more likely to quit if their spouse, friend, or sibling stops smoking.
#OurHearts are healthier when we work together. There's a lot we can do to keep our hearts healthy. Even small changes can make a big difference. Best of all, connecting with others makes those efforts more successful. To help prevent heart disease, we need to: move more, follow a healthy eating plan, reduce stress, improve sleep, and quit smoking.
#OurHearts are healthier when we move together. Physical activity is a great way to help protect your heart from heart disease. Keep your heart healthy and aim for at least 2 1/2 hours of moderate physical activity every week. Doing heart healthy activities with a friend will keep both of you inspired for the long run. Invite a friend to walk with you regularly. Join an exercise class at the community center with a neighbor and carpool to make sure you both show up. Organize a weekly game of basketball with your friends.
#OurHearts track our health stats together. Smoking, being overweight, having diabetes, having unhealthy blood cholesterol levels, or having a family history of heart disease, increases the likelihood you'll develop heart disease. Make a plan with a friend to get heart healthy and track your progress. Remind each other to keep a log of your blood pressure, healthy weight goals, and physical activity.
Health and community professionals can use the materials in this toolkit to raise awareness about heart health and the importance of social support for meeting health goals.
Share these social media resources to encourage everyone to give their heart the care it deserves.
State-Based Social Media Resources
Share these social media assets on Facebook and Twitter and tag @TheHeartTruth and #OurHearts.
Pre-written Articles for Newsletters
These prewritten drop-in articles can be used in your newsletters, bulletins, blogs, or your website. You can even send them to your local media and ask them to do a story for American Heart Month.
Use this template to write in why you practice self-care for your heart. Then take a selfie on #SelfieSaturday and post it to social media using #OurHearts!