by Teri Bartelt
Greetings Readers! I hope you all had a wonderful and special Valentine’s Day!
February is a time of LOVE. If you are reading this eNewsletter, there is a very good chance you LOVE Pickleball. You love the sport, the challenge, the gear, the friendships, the different paddles, the social interactions, the physical activity – you just LOVE it all!
But, did you know that February is also American Heart Month? It’s a time to pay special attention to preventing and understanding heart disease. This year, the American Heart Association (AHA) has a campaign to “Reclaim Your Rhythm.” AHA wants all people to reclaim control of their own health, especially after the pandemic when many Americans were not able to have their yearly physicals with their primary care providers and so many illnesses/diseases were missed in the early stages because of these missed annual/yearly visits.
Besides eating healthy, maintaining a healthy weight, and finding ways to relax, the AHA would like people to Reclaim Their Rhythm by doing at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week.
Pickleball is considered a moderate intensity physical activity! 150 minutes is just 2.5 hours a week.
How many hours to you play pickleball a week? Are you meeting this AHA recommendation for physical activity?
Another way you can join the Reclaim Your Rhythm is by learning CPR, or hands-only CPR.
As we have seen multiple times in the news recently, CPR CAN save someone’s life. Click HERE for a short, simple video on how to do hands-only CPR (you don’t have to be certified to do this).
The AHA wants all Americans to know the following:
No matter where you are, if you witness a teen or adult suddenly collapse, you need to ACT FAST. A delay of a few minutes could be the difference between life and death. Check out this one-minute video from the AHA and remember just TWO easy steps:
- Call 911, or have someone call immediately and keep the phone on speaker.
- Push down hard and fast in the center of the chest at a rate of 100-120 beats per minute. (What is 100-120 beats per minute, you may wonder? Think of the song “Staying Alive” by the BeeGees, or “Respect” by Aretha Franklin, or “Jolene” by Dolly Parton).
Here is a simple 2-minute video about AED use with hands-only CPR.
Next time you play pickleball: Look around. Where is the AED at your pickleball court facility?
-Teri Bartelt, Editor & Publisher of the Greater Waukesha Area Pickleball eNewsletter
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