In matters of the heart, awareness is key. So what do you know about your heart?
Question: You know it pumps your blood, but how many times does it beat a day? Is it 1,000, 10,000, 50,000 or 100,000 times?
Answer: The average heart beats 100,000 times a day.
Question: What about heart disease? True or False: It's a disease of the elderly.
Answer: False. In fact, according to the American Heart Association, almost 150,000 Americans killed by cardiovascular disease each year are under the age of 65, and one out of every 20 people below the age of 40 has heart disease.
Question: What if you're healthy? At what age should you start getting checked for cardiovascular disease?
Answer: The American Heart Association recommends you begin assessing your risk at age 20. Even young adults can develop cardiovascular disease as a result of their lifestyle.
Question: Do you know your heart attack symptoms?
Answer: While severe chest pain can be felt by both men and women, women may have subtler symptoms like abdominal pain, back and jaw ache, fatigue, nausea and shortness of breath.
