With its focus on love and romance, February is known as Heart Health Month in the medical community. However, just because February is over doesn’t mean that heart health should be forgotten.
After all, heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 630,000 Americans die from heart disease annually. In other words, that’s one out of every four deaths in America.
So what can you do to prevent heart disease? Exercise, improving one’s diet, lowering stress, quitting smoking, and limiting alcohol intake are all good starting points for reducing the risk of heart disease.
But the best idea is to talk to a doctor with experience in dealing with heart health. And in Arkansas, CHI St. Vincent is the best place to go. In fact, Reader’s Digest recently named CHI St. Vincent as the top heart hospital in Arkansas in its “The Best Heart Hospital in Every State” list.

Physicians at CHI St. Vincent can provide recommendations for lifestyle changes that can impact your heart health or prescribe medication. If treatment for your heart is necessary, the hospital’s physicians can perform surgery or install advanced devices, such as heart pumps.
CHI St. Vincent has been recognized on the national level for its excellence in heart treatment. The hospital maintains an ACE Accreditation for Cardiovascular Excellence.
“When it comes to caring for the heart, good is not good enough,” Marcia Atkinson, President of the CHI St. Vincent Heart Institute said in a release. “That’s why we constantly strive to improve our patient experience, care and outcomes by implementing best practices and new technologies, ensuring than Arkansans have access to the very best cardiology resources available.”
Now CHI St. Vincent provides a free assessment tool that will help individuals determine their heart age and assess their heart health risks. The CHI St. Vincent Heart Health Profiler is a fantastic tool for increasing your awareness of your health risks and taking steps to improve your health.
Heart age is a good indicator of one’s risk for heart attack, stroke and other cardiac issues. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 75 percent of adults in the United States have a heart age that is older than their actual age. Determining your heart age can be the first step in making health choices to reduce your risks.
And the best part is that the assessment takes only five minutes. Once you’re finished, the tool provides a detailed report about your health risks and recommendations for how to reduce the chances of cardiovascular problems.
If you’re looking to improve your heart health, you owe it to yourself to go to CHI St. Vincent.