American Heart Month 2026- Bringing awareness to heart health

Posted by benniefinch on February 20th, 2026 Posted in: Blog, Weekly Newsletter
Tags: Heart Health

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Heart healthy living is important for all of us. American Heart Month, recognized in February, is a time to raise awareness and promote heart health in your community.  In this article, locate resources in support of heart health, heart disease prevention, and discover how you can promote heart health in your library and community all year round.

What is heart disease?

Heart disease is a general term that includes many types of heart problems. There are many different types of heart disease. Some you may be born with, called congenital heart disease. Other types develop during your lifetime such as Coronary Artery Disease (also called Coronary Heart Disease) which is the most common type of heart disease.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States but there are ways to prevent and manage many types of heart disease.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHBLI) has numerous resources in support of heart health such as  The Heart Truth® | NHLBI, NIH and information on Heart Health and Pregnancy | NHLBI, NIH.

The Heart Truth® | NHLBI, NIH is a national health education program that raises awareness about heart disease and encourages people to live a heart-healthy lifestyle. This robust education and awareness toolkit has information and resources for the public and community health workers such as the Let’s Work Together to Prevent Heart Disease  toolkit. This initiative encourages joining with others to “stay motivated and commit to being heart-healthy together”.

Some actions towards better health:

• Increase Physical Activity
• Eat a Heart-Healthy Diet
• Know and Control Your Heart Health Numbers
• Get Quality Sleep and Reduce Stress
• Stop Smoking
• Maintain a Healthy Weight

Learn more Take Action for Your Heart: Get Started! Fact Sheet | NHLBI, NIH

The Heart Truth® | NHLBI, NIH also has social media resources,  fact and tip sheets in English and Spanish, and videos.  Some groups of people have a higher risk of developing heart disease. You can locate information on Heart Health in our Communities.

Heart health in Pregnancy:

According to the NHLBI, “During pregnancy, your heart is working harder than usual to pump blood to you and your baby. Sometimes, the extra stress exposes risks to your heart health that were there before you got pregnant. The stress can also cause new problems to emerge during pregnancy, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or preeclampsia (high blood pressure with signs of damage to another organ system such as the kidneys). These problems can happen to you during pregnancy, in labor and delivery — even up to a year after your child is born.” Learn more here: Heart Health and Pregnancy | NHLBI, NIH

You can also learn the Urgent Maternal Warning Signs and Symptoms | HEAR HER Campaign | CDC during pregnancy and in the year after delivery.

How can libraries bring awareness to heart health?

Host book displays, blog posts, or other events in support of health awareness throughout the year:

• February is American Heart Month
• First Friday in February is National Wear Red Day
• You can also find a variety of education and awareness resources for High Blood Pressure Education Month in May

Providing information:

• Heart Disease Prevention | MedlinePlus
• Heart Disease | MedlinePlus
• Healthy Sleep | MedlinePlus
• Heart Disease Risk Assessment: MedlinePlus Medical Test
• Stress and your heart: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia
• Heart Health and Aging | National Institute on Aging
• Heart Health and Pregnancy | NHLBI, NIH
• Nation of Lifesavers | American Heart Association – videos for hand only CPR
• Heart Health Resources from MyHealthfinder and the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
• Heart-healthy eating information from the Office on Women’s Health. Learn more about heart-healthy food choices and find heart-healthy recipes.

Programming Ideas:

• Hold a book discussion
• Host a guest speaker on a heart health topic
• Partner with the local extension service to provide a healthy cooking demonstration
• Partner with a local health facility to offer blood pressure screenings
• Provide space for a CPR class

Want to learn more about heart health initiatives or prevalence in your community?

Healthy People 2030 has identified 19 measurable objectives related to the Goal of Improving cardiovascular health and reducing deaths from heart disease and stroke. They also provide  Evidence Based Resources related to Heart Disease and Stroke.

You can use the CDC PLACES Interactive Map to review a variety of health outcomes at the county level including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, and stroke.

Looking for a clinical trial? Search ClinicalTrials.gov for: “Cardiovascular Diseases” or “Heart Diseases”, Not yet recruiting, Recruiting studies | ClinicalTrials.gov

Have you hosted heart healthy programs? I would love to hear about them: bennie.finch@umassmed.edu