February is Heart Month! With heart disease being the second leading cause of death in Canada, it’s more important than ever we take care of our hearts. Did you know? Almost 80% of premature heart disease and stroke can be prevented through healthy behaviours! What do you know about your heart and how it works? Test your knowledge with this heart health quiz from the Kinesiologists at Community Support Connections:

1 — Flossing your teeth and practicing good dental hygiene daily can help protect your heart.

        A. True

        B. False

2 — Non-smokers who are exposed to second-hand smoke at home or work increase their risk of developing heart disease by:

        A.  5 – 10%

        B.  15 – 20%

        C.  25 – 30%.

        D.  40 – 55%

3 — Sleeping less than _____ a night may increase your risk of heart disease.

        A. 5 hours

        B. 7 hours

        C. 6 hours

4 — Your risk of having a heart attack is higher on a _______ morning.

        A. Saturday

        B. Monday

        C. Wednesday

        D. Friday

5 — Men and women can experience symptoms of a heart attack differently.

        A. True

        B. False

6 — Which of these is a symptom of a heart attack? Chest discomfort, sweating, upper body (neck, jaw, shoulder, arms, back) discomfort, nausea, shortness of breath, being light- headed

        A. Chest discomfort

        B. Sweating

        C. Upper body discomfort

        D. Nausea

        E. Shortness of Breath

        F. Light-headedness

        G. All of the above

        H. All except C and G

7 — Adults should accumulate at least ________ of moderate or vigorous intensity of aerobic physical activity per week.

        A. 150 min

        B. 100 min

        C. 30 min

8 — Experts recommend eating _________ servings of vegetables and fruit daily.

        A. 1-3

        B. 4-6

        C. 7-10

How did you do? No matter what you know about keeping your heart healthy, there are simple steps you can take to keep it pumping, such as:

  •        Maintaining a healthy, balanced diet
  •        Maintaining a healthy body weight
  •        Limiting alcohol use (one drink/day for women; two/day for men)
  •        Being smoke-free
  •        Staying physically active (like in Community Support Connections’ free  Virtual Exercise Classes)!

Answers: 1. True     2. C     3. C     4. B     5. True     6. G     7. A     8 .C