There are holidays, weeks and months to celebrate or honor just about everything. There is National Public Sleeping Day, National Read a Road Map Week, Cable TV Month and, who could forget, National Naked Hiking Day.

But February, National American Heart Month and Women’s Heart Disease Awareness Month in Illinois, is a month worth honoring.

According to the American Heart Association, heart disease caused 33,909 deaths in Illinois alone in 2007 — 33.8 percent of all deaths that year.
In spite of these statistics, most people will go about their daily routines without changing much, or anything at all. This includes meal-time habits.

Unfortunately, the reality is that about 64 percent of women who die suddenly of coronary heart disease will have had no warning symptoms.

On the bright side, the American Heart Association estimates that about 80 percent of cardiac arrests in women could be prevented if women make the right choices for their hearts, such as getting regular exercise, eating healthier, choosing not to smoke and managing their cholesterol and blood pressure.

These positive steps, of course, will help prevent not just sudden death due to cardiac arrests, but also many other kinds of cardiovascular diseases.

It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the six-pack abdominal muscle depicted in gym commercials this time of year. But American Heart Month and women’s Heart Disease Awareness Month is not about achieving perfectly sculpted abs. It is about making potentially lifesaving, healthy, lifestyle changes.

This Friday is National Wear Red Day, when people can show their support for healthy living and raise awareness about heart disease.

Donning a red shirt on Friday and letting friends, co-workers and loved ones know the reason behind the wardrobe choice is a very easy first step in making a conscious decision to be more heart-healthy.

Then, when National Pancake Day rolls around Feb. 23, it may be easier to resist the fluffy stacks smothered in butter and syrup.