My Health is in My Hands: February is Heart Month

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I am a mom to two beautiful little girls that I love so much that it hurts. For my husband and I, they are our world. Learning their little personalities and their likes and dislikes has been so much fun. I love to think about what they will be when they grow up and what impact they will make on the world.

I want to be here to see it all. I want to be here for learning to ride a bike, selling Girl Scout cookies, getting their driver’s license, picking out a prom dress, graduating high school and college, seeing them find the loves of their life and hopefully becoming mothers themselves. I want to watch and be a part of all that life has in store for them. Not only the good, but also the bad. I want to be their support, the tough love when they need it and the shoulder to cry on when they are down. I want to experience all that motherhood has to offer on my journey with these two girls.

But What If?

But what if I wasn’t here for them?  You never really know where life will take you. What if there was something out there taking the journey of motherhood away from moms, just like you and me?  

In fact, there is. The number one killer of women, ages 20 and older, is out there and it is a startling statistic that needs attention. 1 in 3 women will die from this silent, often hidden, and misunderstood killer and I don’t want that to be me.

I am talking about heart disease. “It’s a man’s disease.” “But I’m too young.” “Breast cancer is the real threat.” If you’ve heard or said any of these things before, you’re not alone. Most women don’t realize their biggest threat is heart disease.

Heart disease doesn’t discriminate against age, race, social status, neighborhood or gender. And, it doesn’t care that you do yoga or ate a salad for lunch. Grandmothers, mothers, daughters, sisters and friends are dying at the rate of one per minute, because they don’t know that heart disease kills.

I know heart disease is my biggest heath threat and I am doing what I can to control my risk. I want to be here for my girls’ future and my health is in my hands.

I Go Red For Women

I know heart disease is my biggest heath threat and I am doing what I can to control my risk. I want to be here for my girls’ future and my health is in my hands. I seek preventative care, know my key health numbers, eat healthy and exercise for 30 minutes a day.  I Go Red For Women.

Go Red For Women raises awareness of the danger that heart disease poses to women and helps empower women to make choices to reduce their personal risk. February is Heart Month, and we can all be a part of the solution for heart disease. By spreading awareness to the women you love, you are helping to save lives.

If you aren’t sure about supporting Go Red For Women let me leave you with this: when it comes to risk, about 90% of all U.S. women have one or more risk factors for heart disease.

Be here for the future. Be here to be their mother. Join me and Go Red For Women.

Contributing Sister Site and Author

Linzy-Cotaya
About {Linzy}

Linzy, a NOLA native, has been married to her high school sweetheart, Paul, for ten years. They are parents to beautiful girls- Annelise, 6, and Emmeline, 2. A graduate of Louisiana State University, Linzy is an accredited PR girl with a mix of ad agency and nonprofit experience. This work-from-home, not stay-at-home mom is always on the go multi-tasking her way through each day to balance home and career life. Linzy is mom to a peanut allergy child with a passion for avoiding the bubble and letting her be a regular kid. Catch her blogging professionally on PR Breakfast Club, an AdAge Top 150 Power Blog. You can follow her chronicles of learning to be a parent in her personal blog, Crawfish Tales, a featured blog with NOLA Baby & Family Magazine.

Linzy is a contributor for New Orleans Moms Blog, one of our Sister Sites.