“February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month (TDVAM), and the 2025 theme, “Respect That,” focuses on the importance of respect in all relationships.

Dating violence is more common than many realize—about 1 in 3 teens in the U.S. experiences some form of abuse from a dating partner. It can happen to anyone, regardless of gender, and may take place in person or online.

Teen dating violence includes physical, emotional, verbal, or digital abuse. As a parent or caregiver, you play a key role in educating your teen about what a healthy relationship looks like and how to recognize unhealthy behaviors.

Teen dating violence is any action by a partner meant to harm, manipulate, or control the other person. It can include:

• Physical violence: Actions like hitting, pushing, or restraining.
• Emotional abuse: Manipulation, humiliation, or constant criticism.
• Sexual violence: Coercion or forcing unwanted physical acts.
• Verbal abuse: Name-calling, yelling, or making threats.
• Digital abuse: Monitoring social media accounts, excessive texting, or sharing private images without consent.”

Pillars Community Health (Talking to Your Teen About Safe Relationships | Pillars Community Health)

Unhealthy relationships can start early and last a lifetime.  Teens often think some behaviors, like teasing and name calling, are a “normal” part of a relationship. However, these behaviors can become abusive and develop into more serious forms of violence.

Teen Dating Violence is defined as the physical, sexual, psychological, or emotional violence within a dating relationship, including stalking. It can occur in person or electronically and might occur between a current or former dating partner. Several different words are used to describe teen dating violence. Look below.

• Relationship abuse
• Intimate partner violence
• Relationship violence
• Dating abuse
• Domestic abuse
• Domestic violenceA 2013 Survey found approximately 10% of high school students reported physical victimization and 10% reported sexual victimization from a dating partner in the 12 months before they were surveyed.Read on to know the negative effects of teenage dating: Most teenagers lack the proper understanding of balancing friendship and dating causing even best friends to grow apart. This also implies increasing isolation with their new found boyfriends or girlfriends making them further unavailable and unexposed to potential friends in their immediate circle.The most visible negative impact of teenage dating is the school grades. Teenagers lose interest in studies and this is emblematic of their shifting priorities in life. This involves a double failure when teenagers lose their marks in class followed by problems in a relationship on the personal front.
• Teenage dating deals more with exploring their new-found youthfulness than exploring the extent of love. This makes them reduce a relationship to the concept of possessing a boyfriend or a girlfriend making them lose sight of what is important. This is why we have more cases of teenage dating than cases of everlasting friendship.
• The biggest threat about teenage dating is their inability to maintain a relationship. Teenagers mostly, do not understand the necessity of sustaining a relationship over a period of time. Therefore, frequent break ups and fights lead to attempts of suicide, teenage pregnancy or mental instability in extreme cases. This happens due to lack of experience and a broader understanding of what relationships are.
• Teenage dating has been possible in the modern times due to modernisation and free flowing communication. As a result, it also comes with a set of negative implications.
• Dating violence is widespread with serious long-term and short-term effects. Many teens do not report it because they are afraid to tell friends and family. A 2011 CDC nationwide survey found that 23% of females and 14% of males who ever experienced rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner, first experienced some form of partner violence between 11 and 17 years of age.

Consequences of Dating Violence

These harmful behaviors can have long-lasting effects on teens, including:

• Depression or anxiety
• Loss of interest in activities they once enjoyed
• Experimentation with drugs or alcohol
• Suicidal thoughts

Teens who experience violence in relationships during adolescence are also more likely to encounter violence as adults.

Dating violence can have serious consequences. While the immediate impact might be humiliation and/or physical pain, young people who experience abuse are more likely to be in physical fights or bring weapons to school. They might exhibit higher rates of drug and alcohol abuse as well as high-risk sexual behaviors. Targets of abuse are also more likely to contemplate or attempt suicide.

Here are some consequences the target may experience:

Lose confidence in oneself

Become afraid to express feelings of anger

Suffer serious injury, even death

Begin to doubt their own abilities, feelings, and decision-making ability

Feel isolation from family and friends

Feel shame and guilt

Feel lonely

Face inability to maintain long-lasting or fulfilling relationships

Get a sexually transmitted infection

Experience an unwanted pregnancy

Build up large doctor or lawyer expenses

Abandon dreams and goals

Become depressed, anxious, fearful, or suicidal

Begin having problems at work, school, and other activities

Experience damage to personal property

Here are some consequences the perpetrator may experience:

Get arrested

Unable to attend college due to criminal record

Spend time in jail

Experience feelings of shame and guilt

Feel isolation from family and friends

Face inability to maintain long-lasting or fulfilling relationships

Contract a sexually transmitted infection

Experience an unwanted pregnancy

Build up large doctor or lawyer expenses

Abandon dreams and goals

Become depressed, anxious, fearful, or suicidal

Begin having problems at work, school, and other activities

Lose dating partner’s love and respect

Have conflict with parents or other caregivers

Dating partner could end relationship

Dating has many positive benefits for teens, even if they easily get carried away with romantic feelings. Appropriate teen relationships lead to maturity in teenagers and a better understanding of adult relationships. Getting this practice in early allows teens to discover what they want and need out of romantic relationships. Through dating, teens gain essential tools in navigating the world and are better able to develop meaningful intimate relationships as adults.

The way to stop teen dating violence is through prevention.   For a good recommendation of suggestions go to the Compiled by the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence www.wcadv.org Adapted from Hope House of South Central Wisconsin. Remember you don’t want to have to treat it but instead take the action in preventing it.

“According to the infographic—which sources information from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, among others—there are a number of items that responsible pet parents need to be aware of, including:

• Finances: It is important that pet parents understand the financial cost of properly caring for a cat or dog—which when considering routine veterinary care, food, toys, training, grooming, and other expenses—can costs hundreds of dollars a year.
• Vaccines: In addition to regular care, pet parents should consult with their veterinarian about vaccinations, heartworm prevention, and other preventive measures that can protect cats and dogs from a range of potentially deadly diseases.
• Protection: According to the AVMA, more than 10 million cats and dogs are lost or stolen every year, and one-third of pets will become lost at some point in their life. Microchipping your pet greatly increases the chances that they will be recovered if lost or stolen.

“Now more than ever, we consider our pets to be members of the family, so it is essential that people understand all that goes into being a responsible pet parent,” said Fran Dirksmeier, President, Henry Schein Animal Health, North America. “We encourage veterinarians to download this infographic and share it with their clients so they can be the best pet parents possible. Through regular veterinary visits, a healthy diet, and lots of exercise, we can ensure our pets live long, healthy, and happy lives.”

Henry Schein/solutions for health care professionals (Henry Schein Recognizes Responsible Pet Owners Month By Reminding Pet Parents To Take Their Pets To The Vet – Henry Schein)

February is “Responsible Pet Owner” month, and that got us thinking: how do we view responsible pet ownership? While there isn’t an exact definition for it the America Kennel Club gives each of us a great starting point for how we view pet ownership: “Owning a dog is not just a privilege-it’s a responsibility.” Whether you own a dog or a cat one thing is for sure, owning that pet comes with great responsibility.

“Many of us assume that the indoor air quality in our homes is much safer than the air outdoors. However, the Environmental Protection Agency has found that indoor air pollution is one of the most hazardous environmental threats to humans! If you’re like the average individual, you probably spend a good amount of time indoors, so it’s important to educate yourself regarding indoor air quality.

Your windows may be spotless and your floors may sparkle, but for millions of adults and children with allergies, asthma, and other respiratory conditions, a house is only as clean as its air.

Though it might be hard to believe, ­indoor air can be five times dirtier than what we breathe outside, exposing us to carcinogens, including radon and formaldehyde, as well as quotidian lung-gunking impurities, such as pollen, dust mites, pet dander, and a variety of particulate matter created when we burn candles or cook.

Judging from the skyward trend in sales figures, Americans are turning to portable air purifiers in increasing numbers, paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars to reduce indoor air pollutants and the sniffles, sneezes, coughs, and asthma attacks they can trigger.

The Environmental Protection Agency evaluates the energy consumption of air purifiers for its Energy Star program but is careful to issue a disclaimer about their health benefits: “While some home air cleaning devices may be useful in some circumstances, EPA makes no broad endorsement of their use.” According to the agency, the best way to avoid health problems caused by indoor air pollution is to control or eliminate the sources of pollutants (by banning smoking in the house, for instance) and to ventilate the home with clean outdoor air.

Though the benefits of portable air purifiers are still being debated by the scientific community, recent research suggests that they could protect against the ill effects of air pollution under certain conditions. A small, well-designed study, funded in part by China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission and conducted at a Shanghai university, found that the use of filter-based air purifiers was associated with reducing the adverse health effects caused by polluted air. Another study, conducted by Canada’s British Columbia Centre for Disease Control and other Canadian governmental and academic groups, concluded that the use of portable air purifiers can lower indoor levels of particulate matter caused by smoke pollution and, in doing so, benefit respiratory and cardiovascular health.

Energy Star. Models that carry this familiar blue logo are 40 percent more energy efficient than non-Energy Star models. That’s an important consideration for an appliance that CR suggests people run 24 hours a day.”

Consumer Reports (https://www.consumerreports.org/appliances/indoor-air-quality/how-to-improve-indoor-air-quality-a7861970027/?EXTKEY=SM72CR0D&gclsrc=3p.ds&&gclid=ce189d340a06186a625cfaa)

February is National Care About Your Indoor Air Month, which makes this a great time to talk about the importance of indoor air quality testing. But you really should care about the indoor air quality of your home and workplace as well as your child’s school every day of the year.

“Over the last several decades concern over indoor air quality has grown and with good reason,” the folks at the National Air Duct Cleaners Association say. “On average, Americans spend 90 percent of their time indoors where, according to the EPA, the air can be 2 to 5 times more polluted than outdoor air.

Yes, you read that right – the air you breathe inside your home can be more hazardous to your health than the air you breathe in the great outdoors.

Most people think car fumes and the smoke billowing out of factory smokestacks are the biggest drivers of air pollution, but you probably have products inside your home that are releasing volatile organic compounds into the air.

“Things like burning candles, spraying hair spray, and using cleaning products can negatively impact your indoor air quality. Over time these contaminants, plus dust, dirt, and pet dander, can build up inside your air ducts where they can be recirculated through the air 5 – 7 times per day,” officials at the National Air Duct Cleaners Association say.

The Top 10 Indoor Air Quality Facts and Stats:

• 91% of the global population breathes heavily polluted air.
• About 7 million people die every year as a result of indoor and outdoor air pollution.
• Up to 3.8 million deaths occur annually due to smoke exposure from cooking fires.
• Pneumonia and ischaemic heart disease are the most common causes of premature death brought on by indoor pollution.
• Almost 3 billion people worldwide use stoves or open fires that pollute the air when cooking.
• The US’s air quality trends seem to have improved nationwide in the past four decades, according to air pollution statistics from the US.
• The yearly number of deaths caused by polluted indoor air has dropped by over a million over the last three decades.
• In 2016, 60% of the world had clean cooking fuels available.
• High-efficiency particulate air filters remove 99.97% of airborne bacteria, dust, mold, and pollen particles as small as 0.3 microns.
• The American indoor air quality market should hit $12.2 billion by the year 2023.

Importance of Indoor Air Quality

“Indoor air quality” refers to the quality of the air not just in a home, but includes also school, office, or other building environments. The potential impact of indoor air quality on human health nationally can be noteworthy for several reasons:

• Americans, on average, spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors,¹ where the concentrations of some pollutants are often 2 to 5 times higher than typical outdoor concentrations. ²
• People who are often most susceptible to the adverse effects of pollution (e.g., the very young, older adults, people with cardiovascular or respiratory disease) tend to spend even more time indoors. ³
• Indoor concentrations of some pollutants have increased in recent decades due to such factors as energy-efficient building construction (when it lacks sufficient mechanical ventilation to ensure adequate air exchange) and increased use of synthetic building materials, furnishings, personal care products, pesticides, and household cleaners.

91% of the global population breathes air that’s heavily polluted. 

(WHO)

According to indoor air pollution facts, the World Health Organization says that air pollution represents a notable danger to the climate and people’s health. Based on areas where air pollution is monitored, over 80% of the urban population breathes poor-quality air, as per the WHO’s indoor air quality standards.

2. About 7 million people die every year as a result of indoor and outdoor air pollution.

(WHO)

According to the WHO’s indoor air quality statistics, low- and middle-income countries suffer the most from air pollution, including indoor and ambient air pollution. The combination of the two causes acute respiratory infections, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, and more.

3. Up to 3.8 million deaths occur annually due to smoke exposure from cooking fires.

(EC Europa, NCBI)

According to statistics on air pollution, the developing world suffers from premature death and disease due to poor home indoor air quality. Households in low- and middle-income countries rely more on burning fires, including coal, dung, and wood.

They also rely on hazardous stoves that can produce a lot of pollutants, such as particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, and carbon monoxide. Contaminants like these can cause respiratory illnesses and even cancer.

4. The most dangerous indoor air pollutants include benzene, carbon monoxide, environmental tobacco smoke, formaldehyde, lead, naphthalene, and radon.

The European Commission deems these pollutants as the most concerning. It notes that more air pollution statistics from throughout the world should be gathered on their combined effects, thus allowing space for better indoor air quality regulations and guidelines.

5. Pneumonia and ischaemic heart disease are the most common causes of premature death brought on by indoor pollution.

(WHO)

Some indoor air quality statistics are bleak, but they must be brought to light. The leading causes of the 3.8 million deaths mentioned above are ischaemic heart disease (27%), pneumonia (27%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (20%), stroke (18%), and lung cancer (8%).

“Using marijuana as little as once per month is associated with a higher risk of both heart attack and stroke, according to a large study published Wednesday by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital. The risks rose sharply the more frequently marijuana was used.

The paper, which was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting marijuana may be harmful to the cardiovascular system.

Scientists analyzed data on nearly 435,000 patients, ages 18 to 74, to see whether there was a link between marijuana use and a higher risk of heart disease, stroke or heart attack. The data came from a behavioral risk factor survey collected from 2016 to 2020 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Compared with people who had never used marijuana, daily cannabis users had 25% higher likelihood of heart attacks and 42% higher risk of strokes. People who used marijuana just once a week had a 3% increased likelihood of a heart attacks and 5% higher risk of strokes during the study time frame.”

NBC News (Marijuana use as little as once per month linked to heart attack and stroke risk in new study)

Marijuana Awareness Month takes place every February and aims to spread knowledge about the negative effects of marijuana use. Several surveys carried out in the U.S. reveal that millions of people use marijuana, making it the most widely used illicit drug in the country. Marijuana use is on the rise in the U.S., causing a rise in addiction too. The popularity of the drug is a result of the perceived myth that the drug is harmless because of its recent legalization in some states.

Where does marijuana come from and how it effects the body in a negative way:

Marijuana is made from the hemp plant, cannabis Sativa, containing the psychoactive chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other related compounds. Inhalation (smoking) is the most common method of cannabis consumption including joints, pipes, blunts, bowls, bongs, dabs, and vaporizers. Food products can also be made with cannabis as well as sprays and pills.

Effects can include lack of balance and coordination, distorted senses, increased appetite, impaired judgment, elevated heart rate, anxiety, etc. Dangers of marijuana include: anxiety, loss of motivation, impaired short-term memory and learning, slowed thinking and reactions, and addiction.

“For American Heart Month here are Heart Disease Quick Facts to know:

• Heart disease is very common. In the United States, heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups.1 In 2022, 1 in every 5 deaths in the United States was caused by heart disease.12
• High blood pressure is a leading cause of heart disease. Nearly half of U.S. adults have high blood pressure, which puts them at risk for heart disease and stroke. And just 1 in 4 people with high blood pressure has it under control.3
• Heart disease is costly. The cost of health care services, medications, and lost productivity from heart disease amounted to $252.2 billion between 2019 and 2020.”

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-CDC (American Heart Month Communications Toolkit | Heart Disease | CDC)

          
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. Every year, 1 in 4 deaths are caused by heart disease. The good news? Heart disease can often be prevented when people make healthy choices and manage their health conditions.

First let’s understand what occurs to the heart with bad health habits over a long period of time:

If you are eating too much for too long that consist of foods high in sodium, fat and cholesterol your vessels will narrow in size due to high B/P and blockages due to the high fat and cholesterol foods. By allowing high B/P you expose yourself to increasing the pressure in the vessels that increases your blood pressure called hypertension.

If you are also inactive you are at risk of obesity which puts stress on the heart and in time causing high B/P.

Constantly being exposed to a high B/P or HTN in the body this could cause the vessel to rupture (at the heart=possible heart attack, also called MI, at the brain=possible stroke, also called CVA with both on high occurrences in our population of the US.).

With bad habits (especially poor diet, inactive, and smoking) you can cause over time atherosclerosis=a blockage in the artery with the resolution surgery (from what they call a cardiac catheterization which commonly starts up your groin at the femoral artery or if the surgeon is having difficulty than the procedure is done in the arm leading up to the heart where the cardiac catheter or also called an angiogram which could lead to a angioplasty with possibly a stent is performed if there is a blockage.  If they see the blockage (s) is very bad a CABG=coronary artery bypass=a 6hr plus operation where diversion of a vein from your leg or a stent (donor graft site) around the blockage is done. Smoking can lead to this. Also know smoking can cause your vessels to become brittle=arteriosclerosis.

Healthy Habits would impact a positive result for all people who have had this diagnosis CHF that is picked up or diagnosed early.  Most important healthy habits can be a great as a PREVENTATIVE measure for people not diagnosed with any cardiac disease.

There are 4 things you have no control over heredity, age, sex, and race but healthy habits are sure to benefit you by keeping the odds down of you inheriting, help your age factor, and race a lot can be associated with eating cultural habits.

If you make the decision to live a life that’s healthy for your heart through proper eating, doing some exercise or activity with balancing rest in your busy schedule would be a great direction or taking the right step.

Wouldn’t you want less chance of heart disease or obesity or diabetes for yourself and for others throughout the nation including the future generations?  Let’s build a stronger foundation regarding HEALTH in America=Prevention!

Communities, health professionals, and families can work together to create opportunities for people to make healthier choices.  February is American Heart Month, a time when all people—especially women—are encouraged to focus on their cardiovascular health. This Heart Month, the Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (DHDSP) is encouraging women to listen to their hearts and speak up for their health.

Make a difference in your community: Spread the word about strategies for preventing heart disease and encourage people to live heart healthy lives.

How can American Heart Month make a difference?  We can use this month to raise awareness about heart disease and how people can prevent it — both at home and in the community.

Here are just a few tips in prevention of heart disease:

• Encourage families to make small changes, like using spices to season their food instead of salt.  • Motivate teachers and administrators to make physical activity a part of the school. This can help students start good habits early.

• Ask doctors and nurses to be leaders in their communities by speaking out about ways to prevent heart disease.  How can you help spread the word?  We’ve made it easier for you to make a difference. This toolkit is full of ideas to help you take action today. For example:  Add information about living a heart healthy lifestyle to your newsletter. • Tweet about American Heart Month. • Host a community event where families can be active while learning about local health resources.

Also know smoking can cause your vessels to become brittle=arteriosclerosis.  SO STOP SMOKING!

So prevent surgery like a cardiac cath or an artery bypass=a 6hr plus operation where diversion of a vein from your leg or a stent (donor graft site) around the blockage is done.

Healthy Habits would impact a positive result for all people who have had this diagnosis CHF that is picked up or diagnosed early.  Most important healthy habits can be a great as a PREVENTATIVE measure for people not diagnosed with any cardiac disease.

There are 4 things you have no control over heredity, age, sex, and race but healthy habits are sure to benefit you by keeping the odds down of you inheriting, help your age factor, and race a lot can be associated with eating cultural habits.

If you make the decision to live a life that’s healthy for your heart through proper eating, doing some exercise or activity with balancing rest in your busy schedule would be a great direction or taking the right step.

Wouldn’t you want less chance of heart disease or obesity or diabetes for yourself and for others throughout the nation including the future generations?  Let’s build a stronger foundation regarding HEALTH in America.

Take action: Be the cure! Join the American Heart Association’s national movement in support of healthier communities and healthier lives.