Every day of every month, we care deeply about the health of everyone at Westminster-Canterbury of the Blue Ridge. And nothing could be a greater priority than doing all we can to fight heart disease.

But this time of year we step up the emphasis even more, because February is American Heart Month. This is the 57th such observance. The proclamation kicking off the first one was issued by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.

The American Heart Association is particularly concerned about stressing the importance of heart health this year, because of the pandemic. This is for several reasons:

• COVID itself can have seriously harmful effects on the heart and vascular system, according to recent research.
• During the pandemic, many folks have delayed or avoided going to hospitals when they experience the first effects of heart attack and strokes – and that can lead to deadly consequences.
• Because of the changes in our daily patterns during lockdown, many have developed some bad habits, such as eating poorly, drinking more alcohol and limiting physical activity – all things that can lead to, or worsen, heart disease.

At WCBR, we’re taking the challenge of Heart Month seriously – and, you might say, literally.

We call it Heart Challenge 2021, and it runs through the whole month of February.

This month, the Fitness and Wellness Team will be using our new WellnessLiving platform to track points and provide live updates showing how we’re keeping up with participants at-home exercise. Prizes will be given for those scoring the most points. You can also join with friends to participate as teams.

There are all sorts of ways to rack up points. For instance:

• You can get 30 points for attending a Fitness Room, Walking Track, or Pool reservation.
• Gain 10, 20 or 30 points for 10, 20 or 30 minutes of at-home exercise.
• Win 30 points per class – up to 60 points a day – for participating in WCBR live broadcast group exercise classes.

Heart disease continues to be the greatest health threat to Americans and is still the leading cause of death worldwide, according to the AHA’s Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics – 2021 Update. Even in the age of COVID. And we can all do something about it. As the American Heart Association says:

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.

So join with us in Heart Challenge 2021 at WCBR!