Educating Patients to Help Eradicate Heart Disease and Stroke

February is about heart health awareness as we commemorate the 59th annual American Heart Month and February 3rd's National Wear Red Day. Informing your patients about the latest research and health tips will likely be top of mind, so we've compiled statistics and resources here, including information on Cardio AI—an imaging technology that assists cardiologists and radiologists in determining heart disease diagnosis.

February is your opportunity to combine efforts with the American Heart Association (AHA), the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the CDC's Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, and others in educating patients on how to reduce the risks of developing heart disease. 

Heart Health Statistics

Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, which is why ongoing education is imperative. Some current statistics to share with patients include: 

• 805,000 people in the U.S. have a heart attack every year—that's one person every 40 seconds.

• 1 in 5 heart attacks are silent, with damage done without the person being aware 

• 1 in 3 women die from cardiovascular disease annually—more lives than all forms of cancer combined

• Cardiac events are rising in young women in their 20s

• Between 2017 and 2020, 127.9 million U.S. adults had some form of cardiovascular disease (CVD)

• Between 2017-2020, 59% of non-Hispanic (NH) Black females and 58.9% of NH Black males had some form of CVD 

Additional statistical printouts can be found as well at:

• The AHA's 2023 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update Fact Sheet
• The AHA's COVID impacts on CVD rates
• The CDC's heart disease facts printout
• The NIH's Heart, Lung, Blood, and Sleep Diseases and Disorders breakdown 

Heart Month Resources 

Beyond encouraging patients to get regular checkups and screenings to detect potential issues, quick resources you can refer them to on the risks of heart disease and lifestyle changes to make, include: 

• The CDC's comprehensive resources for health care professionals:
  

• Alliance for the Million Hearts® Campaign Partner Toolkit

• Eat Smart, Move More!

• Recipes for a Heart-Healthy Lifestyle 

• Grady Implementation Guide

• National Wear Red Day 2023 Resources:
  
  

• Signs and Symptoms of a Heart Attack

• Preventing Cardiovascular Disease

• Living with Cardiovascular Disease
  
  

• The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's resources:

• Heart health data sheets 

• Social media awareness graphics to share on social media

Additionally, the AHA's "Life's Essential 8" is a good breakdown with abundant resources that highlight the basics of maintaining healthy behaviors and health factors, including:

• Not smoking

• Getting physical activity

• Maintaining a healthy diet

• Maintaining healthy body weight

• Good sleep health

• Control of cholesterol

• Healthy blood pressure

• Balanced blood sugar 
  
  

Arterys Cardio AI Improves Diagnosis

As a provider of cardiac MRI software, we support American Heart Month and National Wear Red Day by highlighting the importance of advanced imaging technology in the early detection and management of heart disease. 

Our Cardio AI software helps cardiologists and radiologists to non-invasively and accurately diagnose and monitor heart conditions, allowing for prompt and effective treatment. Benefits of the technology include the ability to:

• Reduce scan time by ≈ 30% 

• Save up to 25 minutes per exam

• Access to fast, repeatable, and editable results, as accurate as the experts
  
  

• Easily edit contours and access results that automatically transfer to reports

• View raw and index atrial volume values

• Make more efficient and consistent diagnostic decisions

You can learn more about Cardio AI by reading our data sheet.

Join us in the fight against heart disease by learning more about the benefits of Cardio AI.