FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 25, 2008
DHEC urges healthy habits to reduce risk for heart disease and stroke
COLUMBIA – February is American Heart Month and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control urges South Carolinians to adopt healthy lifestyle habits that can help reduce the risk for heart disease and stroke.
"Heart disease and stroke are the two principal components of cardiovascular disease, which is South Carolina's leading killer for both men and women among all racial and ethnic groups," said Dory Masters, director of DHEC's Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Division. "Nearly 13 thousand South Carolinians died from cardiovascular disease in 2005, and heart disease and stroke accounted for 85,962 hospitalizations in South Carolina, with a total hospitalization cost of more than $3 billion."
Masters said better lifestyle habits, such as making healthy food choices and making physical activity a part of your daily routine, can reduce the risk for heart disease and stroke.
According to DHEC, South Carolinians face these known risk factors for cardiovascular disease:
- Tobacco – One of every four adults smokes.
- Excess weight – More than 60 percent of adults are overweight or obese.
- Sedentary lifestyle – More than 50 percent of adults are not active 30 or more minutes per day, five days per week.
- High blood pressure – Nearly one of every three adults has hypertension.
- Diabetes – Nearly one of every 10 adults has diabetes.
- High cholesterol – High cholesterol affects 37 percent of adults.
DHEC's Division of Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention works with community partners and programs to improve the cardiovascular health and quality of life of South Carolinians through the prevention, detection and treatment of risk factors; early identification and treatment of cardiovascular diseases; and prevention of recurrent cardiovascular events.
For more information, or to access a list of American Heart Month events and activities, visit DHEC’s Web site at: http://www.scdhec.gov/hdsp.
-###-
For more information:
Betsy Crick – (803) 545-4496
E-mail – crickec@dhec.sc.gov
or
Clair Boatwright – (803) 898-4461
E-mail – boatwrc@dhec.sc.gov