February is heart health month; the month to wear red and pink; and the month when all things concerning love are featured. Valentine’s Day sits smack dab in the middle of the month that celebrates past presidents, a furry ground creature’s shadow, and Black history. Besides to sell cards, candy, outrageously priced meals, jewelry and flowers, what is the celebration of the heart all about?

From a nursing perspective, it makes sense to have February be the month when we concentrate our efforts on educating the general public about heart health. People are already thinking about emotions, feelings, and chocolate. Heart Disease is the number one killer of white males and second only to cancer for all women. A heart attack claims another victim every 40 seconds in the United States. Lowering stress, eating a heart healthy diet, not smoking- or stopping, and exercising, are some of the ways to prevent heart disease.

But what if your ticker is fine and it is the other “heart” that is in need of a tune-up; the “heart” that represents L.O.V.E.

Working in healthcare or in any giving environment, it is easy to feel like you have unrequited love. You may feel as if you are the only one giving love (to patients, to your organization, to co-workers). You give and get nothing in return. Do you love in vain? To do something in vain means you are not getting what you had hoped to get in return, or not achieving. what it is you had intended.

How healthy are your relationships? With yourself? With your significant other? With your friends? With your career? Love is a verb., not a feeling, after all. Starting with yourself; what do you DO that shows deep affection for YOU? Do you practice what you preach, inside of your other relationships, while neglecting to love yourself? What are you doing that is good for you? Is it enough to love yourself, or someone else, if they (or you) can’t tell that you love them? Let that sink in…. Merely saying you love someone (or yourself) means nothing if they can’t tell.

So… at the start of this heart healthy month, show some love. Take some time to take care of the muscle pumping your blood around your wonderfully made body AND take some time to care for your emotional heart. Get good at letting those you love (yourself included) be able to tell that you love them. It’s never in vain if it’s genuine and done from a spirit of loving for no other reason than to love.