February is National Heart Awareness Month. The AHA and other organizations are spreading the word on the importance of heart health and the need for more research and efforts to ensure that millions of people live longer and healthier.

In most cases, heart disease is preventable when people adopt a healthy lifestyle, which includes not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, controlling blood sugar and cholesterol, treating high blood pressure, getting at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week, and getting regular checkups.

Tips for a Healthy Heart:

• Eat healthily
• Get active
• Stay at a healthy weight
• Quit smoking and stay away from secondhand smoke
• Control your cholesterol and blood pressure
• Drink alcohol only in moderation
• Manage stress