As you know, February is National Heart Month. This is a great opportunity for us as providers to raise awareness about the prevalence of heart disease and to talk to our patients about their individual risk factors.
In addition to high blood pressure, smoking and diabetes, it’s important not to overlook stress as a leading cause of heart disease. This is why UVA Club Red, a free heart health initiative supported by UVA Heart and Vascular Center, is focusing its 2017 Heart Month campaign on educating patients and Club Red members about the signs of stress and steps they can take to limit its impact, such as meditation, exercise and good sleep hygiene.
You can help spread the word about the link between stress and heart disease by talking to your patients, encouraging them to be open with you about their mental and physical health and by recommending UVA Club Red as a source for stress relief tools and information. When patients join the club, they’ll have access to video updates with tips from UVA experts, informative articles on fitness and nutrition, a variety of community events, a heart-healthy recipe library and more.
What Is UVA Club Red?
“At UVA, we have established a program that allows us to educate women about heart health year-round,” says cardiologist Brandy Patterson, MD. Club Red now has approximately 6,000 active members who receive a monthly e-newsletter featuring current health news, heart-healthy recipes and lifestyle tips from UVA experts. They also get a quarterly magazine called Vim & Vigor, which includes articles on local patients and medical news, in addition to stories on celebrities’ health challenges.
Visit clubreduva.com for more information.