Different focuses on health for heart month

Michelle Hennessy – News Writer 

February is the official American Heart Month and to help raise awareness for the different ways to keep a healthy heart, Southern organized a heart fair for students to get more information on the different risks there are for heart disease.

“It’s heart health month and we wanted to promote how people can take care of themselves and take care of their hearts,” said Ashley Ishman, graduate intern at the Health and Wellness Center. “There’s many different aspects and ways you can do that so by inviting different support services from campus, they all offer a different way and a different view on how you can look after your heart.”

During the fair, different organizations on campus set up stalls so students could get an array of important information for their hearts.

“So for example, the Drug and Alcohol Resource Center focus on how drugs and alcohol can affect your heart,” said Brianne Shepard, undergraduate intern at the Health and Wellness Center. “The Public Health Society is focusing on nutrition, healthy eating for your heart. The Health and Wellness Center we’re focusing on how stress impacts your heart, the Fitness Center is focusing on working out and the heart, which is very important. The Multicultural Center is focusing on love and how love can really affect you and the Men’s and Women’s Initiative are focusing on men’s and women’s heart health.”

President of the Public Health Society Kristin Serra said a lot of students at Southern aren’t aware of how food is affecting their hearts.

“I don’t think so, especially if you live on campus because we have such a short surplus of food here,” said Serra. “We have Conn, the Student Center, so there’s not really many healthy food choices, so a lot of people don’t know about it.

Despite the food choices on campus, Serra said there is still an opportunity to make healthy changes to students’ diets.

“If they can, if you’re going to Conn you can pick things that are healthier, things like tomatoes,” said Serra. “Instead of drinking cow’s milk drink almond milk, which they do offer at Conn, so stuff like that.”

Allison Blacker from Southern’s Fitness Center said though students may be aware of the need for exercise, it often gets pushed aside.

“I think that students might be aware but their priorities are on school work, regular jobs…so sometimes physical activity gets pushed aside,” said Blacker. “But in order to be healthy and to stay healthy, you have to be regularly physically active. It helps improve mood, and it helps keep your energy up and you can also have all those wonderful benefits for your heart health.”

The American Heart Association recommends 30 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic training at least five days out of the week, or 25 minutes of vigorous activity three days out of the week, according to Blacker.

“It’s all about making sure you’re working hard enough but also listening to your body so that you don’t overdo it,” said Blacker. “We also want to stress the importance of, if you’re doing the aerobic activity, you also want to do strength training activity. We’re also talking about the relationship between exercise and hypertension, so if you exercise regularly you’ll see a decrease in the occurrence of hypertension. By working your heart, which is a cardiac muscle you’re going to be able to see those benefits.”

Blacker said she hopes students get into health and fitness now while at college as opposed to waiting until it’s too late.

“I hope that students realize the importance of being physically active now and they can make a lifestyle change rather than simply when they get out of college in that old of stage of life they realize that now they need to do x, y and z so they can get healthy,” said Blacker. “But if they started that practice now, then they can make a routine and stay healthy now.”