Take the healthy heart pledge

Despite Minnesota's significant progress reducing heart-related deaths, heart disease is still the state’s second leading cause of death. To reduce the toll of heart disease, the Minnesota Department of Health is encouraging Minnesotans to take a pledge to protect their hearts this February as part of American Heart Month.

In 2000, Minnesota became the first state in the nation where heart disease fell to the second leading cause of death behind cancer. Declining death rates that began decades ago have continued through 2010, the latest year for complete vital statistics records.

Despite this significant progress, 7,144 Minnesotans died from heart disease in 2010, representing 18 percent of all deaths in that year. Heart disease death rates also have remained persistently higher in many rural counties than in the Twin Cities and among American Indians.

Take the pledge at http://millionhearts.hhs.gov.

Tags: lifestyle, health, minnesota