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Pro Football Legend Emmitt Smith About Family Struggles wit

Pro Football Legend Emmitt Smith About Family Struggles with Heart Health Challenge Americans to Develop a "Game Plan for a Healthy Heart" Football legend and all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith and his wife Pat are partnering with Mended Hearts, a nationwide heart patient support organization, and GlaxoSmithKline to encourage Americans to know their risk factors for heart disease and take action to develop their own "Game Plan for a Healthy Heart." A free Game Plan template is available at www.Mendedhearts.org, which people can print and take to their healthcare providers for help in creating their own Healthy Heart Game Plan. "My mom is a longtime diabetic and struggles daily with heart disease. For years, she was unaware of and did not pay attention to her heart health risk factors. Pat and I don't want that to happen to us or anyone that we know," said Emmitt. "Based on my family history of heart problems I know that I need to pay really close attention to my heart health risk factors." About Risk Factors for Heart Disease Heart disease is a leading cause of death among both men and women in the United States. The American Heart Association (AHA) estimates over 80 million Americans have heart disease. According to the AHA, the more risk factors people have, the greater their chance of suffering from a heart attack, stroke or other cardiac condition. People who have diabetes are two to four times more likely to develop heart disease. Factors such as age, gender and ...