Heart Month + The Cardiac Health Foundation Walk of Life

Valentine’s Day may have come and gone, but Heart Month lasts the entire month of February! Since the first Heart Month in 1958, each February, The Heart & Stroke Foundation has encouraged fundraising for heart research while also raising awareness for heart disease and stroke through the Heart Month campaign. On their website, the Heart and Stroke Foundation reports that “today, heart disease and stroke take one life every 7 minutes and 90% of Canadians have at least one risk factor.” This Heart Month, we encourage you to learn more about heart disease and stroke, your risk factors, and what you can do to reduce your risk. Click here to read more about the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Heart Month, including how you can be a part of campaigning initiatives for Heart Month.

In addition to maintaining a healthy diet, one way to improve your heart health is by doing something you already know and love: Urban Poling! It’s an easy way to get some extra steps in with some added benefits you wouldn’t get from regular walking – although CTV News has reported that “people with a glucose-tolerance problem – a driver of diabetes and cardiovascular disease – can cut the risk of heart attack or stroke by simply walking an additional 2,000 steps per day” (to read the rest of this article, click here). Why not aim to get those extra 2,000 steps in with the added benefits of Urban Poling? It burns 20-46% more calories than walking without poles, and in addition to these weight loss benefits, it can also help lower blood pressure and improve blood cholesterol levels. Furthermore, Urban Poling can also be a part of the rehabilitation process following a stroke or cardiac event, as a number of hospitals across Canada are including Urban Poles in discharge packages for these patients.

So, why not include Urban Poling as a part of an active lifestyle to prevent heart disease & stroke? We invite you to join us in the Cardiac Health Foundation’s Walk of Life on Saturday, May 30^th, which we will be participating in this year as we join in celebrating the Cardiac Health Foundation’s 50^th Anniversary! We’ll be there ready to walk with poles in hand and we hope you will, too! Click here for more details on the Cardiac Health Foundation and their annual Walk of Life.