Go Red! Heart Healthy Month to Quit Smoking

Go red!  February is red heart month.   Not only is it Valentine’s Day, but it’s a day to begin a healthy lifestyle.  One way to do this is to play close attention to things that impact your heart and your health.  Having healthy habits, like regular exercise will go a long way, verses taking part in unhealthy habits like smoking.   Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body and it causes many diseases and reduces one’s health overall.   Cigarettes causes more than 480,000 deaths each year, which is more than deaths caused by alcohol use and motor vehicle injuries, among others.   Smoking is estimated to increase the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke by 2 to 4 times.  Smoking also can cause cancer nearly any place in the body from your bladder to your stomach to your larynx and nearly in every other organ.   Smoking also ages every organ including your skin.  This is the month to focus on a healthy heart by adding healthy habits and stopping bad ones. Here’s to heart healthy focused month and year!