A day of learning and fun for heart health awareness

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- February is Heart Month, a time to check our heart health.

And for the 10th year running, Temple Health is putting lifesaving lessons into a fun day that's free, and open to all.

The heart beats 100,000 times a day and two and a half billion times over the average life.

But many people don't think of their hearts till something goes wrong.

So, Dr. Eman Hamad, director of Temple Health's Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Program, is on a mission.

"Awareness is for everyone," she says.

It starts with Go Red for Women Day throughout Temple Health.

"We're gonna go from one campus to the others, really spreading awareness about, you know, the AHA's Life's Essential 8," she explains.

The Essential 8 are eight measures the American Heart Association says are key to good health.

On February 13, the team again hosts Heart Failure Awareness Day.

"It's a fun way to learn about heart health," she notes.

Heart failure nurse practitioner Linda Ruppert says it cover the A to Z of heart disease and taking charge of your heart health.

"It starts with knowing your numbers, knowing your blood pressure, knowing your cholesterol, knowing your A1C," Ruppert explains.

"Knowing what your risk factors are and learning how to attack them," Dr. Hamad adds.

A chef demonstrates heart-healthy cooking. Nurses hold sessions on choosing low sodium foods.

"They'll show them a canned good and then they'll turn it around to the label and they'll read out how many milligrams are in per serving," Ruppert says.

There's the Wheel of Fun - questions and answers about heart health in a game format. And there are CPR lessons.

But some learning isn't planned. It just happens.

"Not only do patients ask questions, but they also give up anecdotes from their day-to-day, and they actually start educating each other," Dr. Hamad says.

The laughter yoga sessions and the photo booth are always popular.

The whole day is free and open to all, whether Temple patients or not. Ruppert says it draws more and more people every year.

"It's just amazing to see these individuals who come back every year and then they bring other, you know, friends and neighbors as well," she says.

Many visitors say they didn't know they're at risk for heart failure, but now they do, and they know what to do.