By David Cruz

A cavalcade of Montefiore employees, mainly those from the Center for Heart and Vascular Care, strode around the perimeter halls of the Moses Campus in Norwood on Feb. 5.

It was four laps. Four laps to form a “Montefiore Mile,” make a statement and kick off the hospital’s annual Heart Healthy Month. The hospital has committed 28 days of events to spur the talk on keeping a healthy heart.

“We’re bringing cardiology out into the community,” said Dr. Steven Safyer, the hospital’s CEO, who offered remarks prior to the celebratory walk. “Along with that, all the proper advice on how to prevent heart disease.”

Scheduled events included food demonstrations, exercise classes and weekly tips on proper heart maintenance. Among the common tips—taking a brisk walk for 30 minutes a day, three times a week.

“When you [exercise] you basically improve your good cholesterol and decrease your bad cholesterol,” said Dr. Mario Garcia, chief Division of Cardiology at Montefiore, and co-director of The Montefiore Einstein Center for Heart and Vascular Care.

Weaving exercise into one’s daily life, even for the busy, also works, said Dr. Garcia.

“If they work in their office in the third floor, don’t take the elevator, take the stairs to go back and forth in your office,” said Dr. Garcia. A cardiologist at Montefiore for five years, Dr. Garcia oversees a team of cardiologists and heart specialists throughout Montefiore’s network, with its number of hospitals boasting heart centers throughout. The hospital performs 30 to 35 heart transplantations yearly, according to Dr. Garcia.

Heart disease serves as the umbrella term for various ailments that include coronary artery disease, heart arrhythmias and congenital heart defects. Other conditions, usually falling under the cardiovascular disease term, include heart attacks, chest pain or stroke. The Centers for Disease control ranks heart disease as the leading cause of death in the United States.

Over the years, statin drugs—treatments used to block the body’s bad cholesterol output—have been the subject of major debate, though Dr. Garcia urged heart sufferers to take the statin drugs.

“Most people question whether they should take one of these drugs or not,” said Dr. Garcia. “When a physician says take them, they should.”

Heart Month ends on Feb. 28. Some major events include “My Plate Planner: Eating for Healthy Heart” on Feb. 20 at 2175 Westchester Ave. at 10 a.m., a Feb. 24 health fair at The Mall at Bay Plaza from noon to 4 p.m., and a Heart Healthy Seminar at 2300 Westchester Ave. at 10am on Feb. 26.

A full list of events can be found at http://www.montefiore.org/heart-month-calendar.