Preventive Heart Care Keeps Your Heart Beating Strong
Your heart health is key to your overall well-being. You might have heard that heart disease is the leading cause of death for Americans. But there’s good news: the vast majority of heart disease is preventable. Simple changes — like learning your cardiovascular risk factors, eating healthier, managing your weight, exercising and taking care of your emotional health — can have a huge impact on your heart health.
Within our network of hospitals, AdventHealth has partnered with the American Heart Association to collaborate on community initiatives that bring awareness to preventive heart care, warning signs and healthy lifestyle changes. Many of our facilities also provide free or minimal charge screenings for common heart-health measures, including blood pressure, cholesterol and blood-glucose levels. When you take good care of your heart, it will continue to take good care of you, today and well into the future.
What is Heart Health and Prevention?
Heart health refers to the overall well-being of the heart and circulatory system. It's crucial because the heart plays a central role in pumping oxygen-rich blood throughout the body, supplying vital nutrients to organs and tissues. Maintaining a healthy heart is essential for longevity and overall quality of life.
Prevention of heart disease plays a key role in maintaining heart health and can protect against:
- Coronary heart disease (CDC)
- Heart attacks
- Heart failure
- Hypertension
- High cholesterol
- Type 2 diabetes
Comprehensive Care Helps Prevent Heart Disease
- Heart Health and Prevention Education for Whole-Person Health
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Count on us to help you keep your heart health in check. You already know that your heart is at the center of whole-person health, but it’s especially critical if you have certain cardiovascular risk factors — like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, certain diets or a sedentary lifestyle. If you’re at high risk of developing heart disease, your expert cardiovascular team at AdventHealth can help guide you toward a healthier lifestyle to help you prevent heart problems in the future.
We’re passionate about supporting our local communities through free lectures and heart-health education, so our neighbors and friends can learn to manage cardiovascular risk factors and prevent heart disease. Our goal is to help everyone in our community learn the principles of healthy living, and that includes building a heart-healthy lifestyle that supports body, mind and spirit.
Some strategies our care teams encourage to reduce the risk of heart disease and heart attacks are:
- Encouraging regular physical exercise
- Incorporating healthy eating and a heart healthy diet
- Maintaining a focus on mental health to support heart goals
- Regular communication and screenings with health care providers
- Know Your Cardiovascular Risk Factors
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The more you learn about heart health and heart disease prevention, the more empowered you'll feel to take healthier living into your own hands. While age and family history play a role in your risk for cardiovascular disease, your body also sends you signals when something isn’t right. At AdventHealth, we’ll help you look out for the warning signs that mean you could be at an especially high risk for heart disease, including:
- A family history of cardiovascular disease
- Lack of physical activity
- Poor eating habits or nutrition
- Problems with emotional health
- Weight and obesity
Each of these is an important factor in keeping your heart healthy and strong. We'll help you learn better eating habits through healthy recipes, smarter grocery shopping, and our partnerships with community restaurants. We can also help you improve your emotional health with extra support and resources to foster a heart-healthy life and spiritual well-being. It’s our goal to help you learn to manage your heart health as part of your larger wellness journey.
- Advanced Heart Health and Prevention: Heart Screenings and Nutrition Counseling
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Heart screenings and other proactive prevention strategies are key components of maintaining optimal heart health and reducing the risk of heart disease. Here's an overview of heart screenings and some proactive prevention strategies:
- Blood Pressure Measurement: Regular blood pressure checks are essential for detecting hypertension, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. High blood pressure often has no symptoms, so routine monitoring is crucial for early detection and management.
- Blood Glucose Testing: Monitoring blood glucose levels is essential for detecting diabetes or prediabetes, both of which increase the risk of heart disease. High blood sugar damages blood vessels over time, contributing to cardiovascular complications.
- Cholesterol Testing: Checking cholesterol levels helps assess the risk of developing plaque buildup in the arteries (atherosclerosis), which can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Lipid profile tests measure total cholesterol, LDL (bad) cholesterol, HDL (good) cholesterol, and triglycerides.
- Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG): An ECG records the electrical activity of the heart and can help detect abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias), which may indicate underlying heart conditions.
- Echocardiogram: This ultrasound test provides detailed images of the heart's structure and function, helping diagnose heart valve problems, congenital heart defects, and other heart conditions.
- Stress Testing: Stress tests evaluate how well the heart functions during physical activity. They can help diagnose coronary artery disease and assess the risk of heart attacks.
At AdventHealth we aim to provide free and minimal-charge heart screenings at many of the hospitals in our network. Our commitment to heart health goes well beyond diagnostics, with care teams supporting lifestyle changes like dietary shifts, physical exercise, and a focus on mental health.
Heart and Vascular Care You Can Count On
We’re here to take care of your cardiovascular system so you can keep putting your whole heart into everything you do.
Cardiovascular Specialties and Services
Learn more about other AdventHealth Heart and Vascular Care Specialties and Services.
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General Cardiology
General cardiology encompasses the diagnosis, treatment and management of various heart-related conditions and diseases.
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Heart Valve Disease
Close monitoring and ongoing management are essential for people living with heart valve disease to prevent complications, manage symptoms and optimize heart function.
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Women’s Cardiology
Women's cardiology gives special focus to the distinct risk factors, symptoms, diagnostic considerations, and treatment approaches associated with heart disease in women.