Take The First Step To A Healthier Heart. Walk 

Valentine's Day is the holiday we most associate with the heart. Love your heart this month and all year-round by taking steps to prevent cardiovascular disease (heart disease). Heart disease is a general term describing problems related to plaque buildup in the walls of the arteries. As plaque builds up, the arteries narrow, making it more difficult for blood to flow. That creates a risk for heart attack or stroke, explains the American Heart Association (AHA). Other types of heart disease include heart failure, an irregular heartbeat (or arrhythmia) and heart valve problems. Determine your risk for having a heart attack by answering some questions on the AHA website.

You can avoid heart problems by eating properly, exercising, losing weight and stopping smoking. Simple steps, yes, but often hard to accomplish. Just taking a walk for as little as 30 minutes a day is one of the most effective forms of physical activity, says the AHA. In fact, AHA likes the activity so much, it created Walking Clubs. This exercise can lower your cholesterol and blood pressure, and it helps to promote weight loss.

Heart health is an important issue for women. More women die of cardiovascular disease than from the next four causes of death combined, including all forms of cancer. But 80% of heart attacks and other heart-related diseases in women could be prevented if they made the right choices involving diet, exercise and abstinence from smoking. Sign up for the Better U program of the AHA, an online health and fitness program that can "makeover" your heart.

Don't wait for Cupid to come on Valentine's Day. Start loving your heart today by forming healthy habits.