Geneia Celebrates Valentine's Day with a Focus on Heart Health

HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- In the spirit of Valentine's Day and the theme of sharing your love, Geneia today is calling attention to heart disease and the simple things that everyone can do to protect their heart.

According to the American Heart Association, there are a number of practices that everyone can employ to help prevent heart disease, including:

• Sleep:  Sleeping too little or too much can increase risk for heart disease.  Six to eight hours per night is the ideal amount.
• Exercise:  30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity (walking at quick pace, jogging, cycling, swimming) five days a week can help reduce the risk of heart disease.
• Alcohol Consumption:  Moderate drinkers have a lower risk of developing heart disease than non-drinkers (1 drink per day for women; 2 drinks per day for men).
• Chocolate:  Having a small amount of dark chocolate (1oz or less) once or twice a week can help lower the risk of heart disease.
• Stress:  Reduce your stress and in turn, your blood pressure, by regularly using relaxation methods such as meditation, yoga or deep breathing.
• Diet:  The American Heart Association recommends eating at least two servings a week of fatty fish, such as salmon, mackerel, or albacore tuna, all high in Omega-3s, to decrease triglyceride levels, slow growth rate of plaque and lower blood pressure.

"No one plans to have a heart attack, but we do know that everyone can plan to prevent one," said Heather Lavoie, President of Geneia.  "At Geneia, we work closely with our patients, physicians, hospital clients and our own employees to bring them health and wellness practices that are easy to do and effective.  I know first-hand that sleep, exercise and stress reduction have helped improve my health – and that of my loved ones."

For more information on preventing heart disease, see www.heart.org.

ABOUT GENEIA
Geneia is a health care innovations company specializing in the development and deployment of clinical, analytic, and technical solutions for health care.  Our staff has significant experience in all aspects of health care and includes 100 nurses and physicians as well as dietitians, social workers, and health educators.  We develop, acquire, and market leapfrogging technologies to improve the cost of health care, and the health of the people we serve. 

Geneia offers an array of health and wellness programs, including the Worksite Nutrition Culture Assessment which evaluates and makes recommendations about food choices in the workplace.  The Geneia Institute educates clinicians and other health care professionals in population health, care coordination, and other emerging models.  Geneia helps hospitals, physicians, health plans, brokers, employers, and their employees succeed in the post healthcare reform environment.  For more information, visit www.geneia.com.

SOURCE Geneia