February is officially recognized as Heart Month across the United States to bring awareness to the importance of taking care of cardiovascular health. Heart disease, also known as cardiovascular disease, is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S. and Canada, and includes heart attack, stroke, cardiac arrest, congestive heart failure, and more.
Employee Wellness and Heart Health
About half of all Americans (47%) have at least 1 of 3 key risk factors for heart disease: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking. Educating employees about heart disease, signs and symptoms, and how to maintain a healthy heart is important to lower risk. It can even become the basis of a healthy lifestyle. But it’s crucial to take informed action.
The best way to reduce risk of heart disease is to maintain a healthy lifestyle. This includes regular exercise, eating a balanced diet, managing stress, and avoiding harmful habits like smoking and excessive alcohol consumption.
A comprehensive corporate wellness program can motivate and empower employees to maintain a healthy lifestyle through increased awareness of individual risk, education about how to manage cardiovascular health, reflection on lifestyle habits, and making changes where necessary. It can even encourage employees' loved ones to do the same.
Many employee wellness programs are based on healthy eating, regular exercise, and stress management, which all contribute to healthier hearts. CoreHealth by Carebook even has a fun, interactive 6-week challenge called The Beat Goes On that focuses specifically on heart health.
Understanding Personal Risk of Heart Disease
Early intervention and detection can also make a significant difference in heart disease outcomes, by ensuring effective treatment and improved chances of a full recovery. Getting regular check-ups to monitor blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and other markers of heart health can be lifesaving.
It's common for comprehensive employee well-being programs to include annual biometric screening and/or health risk assessments. These further inform employees of their personal health standing and let them know their risk of heart disease. For example, CoreHealth Checkpoint offers total health risk assessments, with content directed specifically at cardiovascular risk. Participants immediately receive reports about their individual health standing, risk of disease (including cardiovascular disease), and include personalized tips for next steps.
Read more about employee health assessments in The Complete Guide to Health Risk Assessments.
By spreading awareness and promoting healthy habits, we can work together to prevent heart disease and live healthier, happier lives.
About CoreHealth Technologies
CoreHealth by Carebook is a total well-being company trusted by global companies to power their health and wellness programs. Our wellness portals help maximize health, engagement, and productivity for over 3.5 million employees worldwide. We believe people are the driving force of organizations and supporting them to make behavior changes to improve employee health is in everyone’s best interest. With the most flexibility, customizations, and integrations of any software in its class, CoreHealth’s all-in-one wellness platform helps achieve great wellness outcomes.
From simple to sophisticated, it's up to you. For more information, visit the CoreHealth website.
