Heart Health and Employee Productivity

It is estimated that a person will spend 90,000 hours working for a living, which is
approximately one-third of a person’s total life.
As this represents a significant part of a human’s lifespan, employers and employees
must take care of their health. Today, we will cover one of the most critical aspects of
health, namely heart health.
The organ known as the heart is located in the chest above the diaphragm, between the
lungs. It works as a pump to transport oxygenated blood throughout the body and
flushes out deoxygenated blood. The heart beats over 100,000 times daily and pumps
about 1.5 gallons of blood every minute.

Other Functions of the Heart

Apart from pumping blood throughout the body, the heart also performs the following
functions:
● maintaining normal blood pressure.
● working with other body systems to control bodily functions.

Diseases That Affect the Heart

Heart disease is the number one killer worldwide, responsible for 16% of the world’s
total deaths. Since 2000, the largest increase in deaths has been from this disease,
rising by more than 2 million to 8.9 million deaths in 2019. The following are some of the
diseases that may affect the heart:
● Heart Arrhythmias.
● Heart Failure
● Heart Valve Disease.
● Pericardial Disease.
● Cardiomyopathy (Heart Muscle Disease)
● Congenital Heart Disease.
● Vein and artery disease
● Coronary artery disease

Basic steps to Heart Health

1. DO NOT smoke and don’t inhale smoke from others.
2. Eat more fruits and vegetables (get the best you can).
3. Stay Active/Exercise – let your heart work to strengthen it
4. Eat Healthy.
   • low in saturated fats such as full cream milk, animal fat
   • low in refined carbohydrates such as white bread
   • low in salt
   • handful of nuts.
5. Stay Happy! Self care is a must; hobbies, laugh, breathe
   

The 29th of September is World Heart Day, a day dedicated to spreading heart health
awareness by reducing risk factors for heart disease through various initiatives.
Early prevention is the best way to avoid heart problems later in life, which is why it is so
important to help your employees get heart-healthy. Here is some important information
and initiatives you can take to promote heart health in your workplace. However, be
sure to continue your company’s heart health initiatives throughout the year to have a
true impact on your employees’ health and output.

1. Offer healthy workplace snacks and food with reduced salt, sugar, and saturated
   fats.
2. Provide easy access to annual medical examinations. Blood pressure, blood
   sugar, cholesterol, and triglycerides are indicators of possible heart disease that
   can be detected in routine screenings. Provide free annual screenings onsite or
   at a nearby clinic for employees.
3. Promote exercise both on and off the work premises. Consider organizing
   company fitness sessions if you cannot offer employees free or discounted
   memberships at a local gym. A monthly walk with incentives could be offered to
   boost morale.
4. Help reduce employee stress. One is more likely to suffer from heart disease if
   you are stressed. Stress increases your risk of coronary artery disease and high
   blood pressure. Provide some of these services to employees to help them
   manage stress.

● Provide counseling programs for employees.
● Offer free massage packages.
● Incorporate working-from-home days.

5. Organize heart health education events. Educate employees about heart-healthy
   lifestyles. Health and exercise professionals can teach engaging classes
   covering a variety of topics, such as nutrition, exercise, stress reduction, and
   smoking cessation. These events do not have to be organized during heart
   health month, but can be incorporated throughout the year.
6. Get employee wellness services from an experienced team. Health Essentials
   has a robust corporate wellness program and an experienced team of
   professionals that can help with this. As part of our services, we provide on-site
   clinics, medical exams, virtual wellness programmes, health education, and
   training for corporate bodies and can boast of seventeen years of experience in
   the corporate wellness sector.

The heart is an important organ that helps with our output. This is why protecting
it is so important, as a healthy heart means great relationships, great work
output, and, above all, great quality of life. It is important that all of us, but
especially employers, promote employee health and wellness since this is the
ONLY proven way to reduce healthcare expenditure.
TODAY SOMEONE WILL ACHIEVE HEART-HEALTH; WILL IT BE YOU?

Reference:
https://www.who.int/
https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/about.htm
https://www.gettysburg.edu/news/stories?id=79db7b34-630c-4f49-ad32-4ab9ea48e72b
Put together by
Maureen Masopeh and Augustina Amarh
Content Creators
Health Essentials Ltd