Worcester, Mass. – As we settle into the New Year and kick off February’s Heart Health Awareness Month, it’s the perfect time to set or revisit your goals for the year. Saint Vincent Hospital encourages our community to make heart health a priority.

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of men and women in America, but there are ways we can reduce or eliminate our risk of developing it, such as exercising and eating a healthy diet.

The experienced team at Saint Vincent Hospital’s Center for Heart and Vascular Services is dedicated to providing patients in central Massachusetts with comprehensive cardiac care close to home. If you have been diagnosed with a heart condition or visit our hospital for cardiac care, our comprehensive teams are prepared to take care of you. With a full range of cardiac services from cardiac and preventative care, to surgery and rehabilitation, when patients visit Saint Vincent Hospital, they can rest assured their heart is in the right place.

Each year in February, we recognize Heart Health Month by focusing on ways to improve heart health and educate our community. We hope you’ll join us by visiting our website where you can find heart health resources, take a heart health quiz, learn about our full range of cardiac care and more.

You can also sign up for Saint Vincent Hospital’s health tips newsletter, which will be heavily focused on heart health throughout the month of February. And take our heart health assessment.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 805,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year. The most common symptom of a heart attack for both men and women is chest pain or discomfort. However, women are more likely to have atypical symptoms. Other heart attack symptoms include, but are not limited to, tingling or discomfort in one or both arms, back, shoulder, neck or jaw, shortness of breath, cold sweat, unusual tiredness, heartburn-like feeling, nausea or vomiting, sudden dizziness, and fainting.

Heart Month represents a great time to make sure you are up to date on your health screenings. Screenings and check-ups that are often covered by insurance can alert you to health conditions that need addressing sooner rather than later. From knowing your numbers for heart health to a mammogram or colonoscopy, early detection may prevent complications down the road.

For more information, visit Saint Vincent Hospital’s Cardiovascular Prevention Program.

Throughout the month of February, Saint Vincent Hospital will celebrate Heart Health Awareness Month and feature a social media campaign targeted at helping educate our communities learn about ways they can promote healthy hearts.

Some of our featured events for Heart Month include:

February 3: Go Red Day
American Heart Association Heart Month National Wear Red Day (also recognized as National Woman’s Heart Day). All Saint Vincent staff are invited to wear red and join in for a group photo following our monthly employee ‘ACE’ Award recognition celebration that begins at 12:30pm in our Atrium.

Saturday, February 11: Central MA Heart & Stroke Ball
Saint Vincent Hospital sponsors the annual American Heart Association Heart & Stroke Ball. Mechanics Hall, Worcester.

February 23: Cardiac Lecture
Cardiac lecture presented by Mazen Roumis, MD – Cardiology, Saint Vincent Hospital 12:00pm at the Holden Senior Center, Holden, MA

All Month:
Throughout the month, Saint Vincent Hospital will share heart health themed content across all its social media channels and hospital subscription newsletter.