February is a month when hearts take center stage. That’s especially true at Star Wellness, where we remind employers that medical conditions related to heart disease and stroke cost businesses billions of dollars each year in times missed from work and increased healthcare costs.
More than one million Americans suffer a heart attack each year, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in every three deaths is related to stroke or heart disease. That translates into approximately 2,200 deaths per day.
The good news is that there are simple steps you can take to help employees decrease their chance of heart disease:
- Encourage healthy eating habits. Health problems such as diabetes that are the results of excessive weight gain can contribute significantly to increased risk of heart disease. Incorporating healthy eating tips and incentives into a wellness program is an effective way to promote weight management and decrease the risk of heart disease.
- Promote regular exercise. Weekly routines that include at least 60 minutes of activity three days a week can have a significant impact on your employees’ heart health. Regular exercise also has been proven to help reduce stress, another factor that can lead to heart disease. Organizing group activities is even better because employees are able to hold each other accountable and are more likely to maintain the activity on a regular basis.
- Say “No” to cigarettes. Smoking is the most preventable cause of coronary artery disease. The CDC reports that almost 20 percent of heart disease deaths are caused by smoking cigarettes. Employees that smoke have two to four times higher chance of heart disease, and the longer a person smokes the greater the risk. Incentives and programs that help employees quit smoking will pay off for both your employee and your company.
The key to controlling heart disease is early detection, because many employees do not realize they are at risk until they start experiencing symptoms. Screening has become much more sophisticated thanks to advances in imaging technology and blood testing that offers more accurate assessments than methods of even a few years ago.
Play it safe. Contact us for more information or to customize a screening.
