Besides being the time of love and black history, February is also American Heart Month. This year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is teaming up with Million Hearts to encourage Americans to know their blood pressure, and if it’s too high, to make control their goal. Uncontrolled high blood pressure is the leading cause of heart disease and stroke.

Million Hearts is a national initiative with a goal to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2017.

A person with high blood pressure is four times more likely to die from a stroke, and three times more likely to die from heart disease, compared to those with normal blood pressure.

Million Hearts is suggesting that those people with high blood pressure talk to their doctors about ways to control it, adding physical activity to their daily routine, eating healthier and quitting smoking.

Most of the time, a person with high blood pressure shows no sign or symptoms.

We at the Suffolk News-Herald encourage everyone to get their blood pressure checked regularly, especially men, as the leading cause of death for men is heart disease.