CLEVELAND, Ohio — February is Heart Month and many across Ohio are working to make the Buckeye State healthier for everyone.

• Educating people on the early symptoms of a heart attack is one of the important parts of Heart Month
• University Hospitals in Cleveland tells people to look out for symptoms like chest pressure, feeling of fullness, pain that travels down both arms, anxiety, nausea and back pain
• The American Heart Association's 2030 impact goal is to increase healthy life expectancy from 66 to at least 68 years in the United States and from 64 to at least 67 years worldwide.

For Molly Palmer, the fight against the number one killer of men, women and children is personal.

“My mom had a sudden cardiac arrest six years ago, and I’ve actually lost two cousins who were brothers to cardiac arrest, so this career has become my passion,” Palmer said.

She’s at the front of the fight against heart disease with the American Heart Association. 

“I love Heart Month. Heart Month is top of mind for the public, it’s an opportunity to bring more awareness about our mission, which is raising more awareness about heart disease and stroke, it’s also an opportunity to educate the public to put heart health first,” said Palmer.

Educating people on the early symptoms of a heart attack is one of the important parts of Heart Month. University Hospitals in Cleveland tells people to look out for symptoms like chest pressure, feeling of fullness, pain that travels down both arms, anxiety, nausea and back pain.

“What I really love is when we meet our survivors, because who can better tell the story of why we do what we do than someone who survived a cardiac arrest or someone who survived a heart attack. It just really puts in front of us the importance of our mission,” said Palmer. 

The American Heart Association, specifically in Northeast Ohio, is also using this year’s Heart Month to focus on the dangers of vaping, with the #QuitLying campaign, and looking at the amount of sugar children are consuming.

“The average child is consuming so much sugar in one year, that they will fill a bathtub full of sugar, which is thirty gallons of sugar,” said Palmer. 

It’s a fight this mother believes is worth it more than ever.

“I have two little kids, and this is a generation of children that are not expected to outlive their parents, their ideal health is less than one percent, which is staggering,” said Palmer.

The American Heart Association's 2030 impact goal is to increase healthy life expectancy from 66 to at least 68 years in the United States and from 64 to at least 67 years worldwide.