For the romantic, Valentine’s Day is all hearts and flowers and declarations of love; for the cynical, It’s a Hallmark holiday and a waste of time and money; and for the lonely, It’s sad and depressing. This year, make your Valentine’s Day count by getting educated about real heart health and safety?you might be able to save a truly broken heart.

Signs of the Times
Because early intervention is key to surviving a heart attack or stroke, every adult should memorize the signs of cardiac emergency. This pamphlet, created by the Heart and Stroke Foundation, explains what to look for and what to do (whether You’re experiencing a cardiac event or stroke yourself, or you are alone with a victim).

Life Saver
When there’s an emergency, you know to dial 9-1-1. But emergency personnel may take several minutes to arrive on scene, and time is critical for a victim of cardiac arrest. In fact, for every minute elapsed, the victim’s chances of survival go down 10 per cent. The solution is CPR education; locate a class near you, and with just a few hours of your time you can learn life-saving skills. If there are no local classes or you can’t fit a formal class into your schedule, CPR Anytime is a home study course that offers basic CPR instruction.

Not Just for Kids
Heart health isn’t just an issue for adults. The program Jump Rope for Heart?now more than 30 years old?helps kids learn heart-healthy skills while raising money to fund ?strategic research? into improving and maintaining kids? cardiac health. The ultimate goal: to ensure the future health of the community and nation.