Cooking demo and Q&A session highlight Heart Failure Awareness Day

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- With Valentine's day just days away, it's time to think of our hearts, and how we're caring for them.

On Valentine's day, there's a learning opportunity that's free - and fun.

"One out of four people will develop heart failure. That's more than all forms of cancer combined," notes Dr. Eman Hamad, a Temple Health heart failure specialist.

But Dr. Hamad says people can beat those odds.

On Friday, they can learn how to do it at Temple Hospital's Heart Awareness Day.

It's all organized and presented by the doctors, nurses, and staff who treat patients every day.

"We're doing this from A to Z, even putting up the chairs and the tables," Dr. Hamad says with a smile.

"There's a question and answer center. there's quite, there's education on signs and symptoms of heart failure," says Linda Ruppert, CRNP, program coordinator for Temple Health's Heart Failure program and event co-organizer.

Ruppert joins dietitians at info sessions to explain heart-healthy eating and food shopping.

"Then we have a wonderful, wonderful cooking demonstration, where we actually have a chef who will cook for the patients right there, and they get to taste it," she says.

There's also hands-on CPR - and laughter yoga to teach stress relief.

Their message is wrapped around the American Heart Association Life's Essential 8 for improving heart health -

Be active, quit tobacco, get good sleep, manage your weight....

Eat healthy, control your cholesterol, manage your blood sugar, and manage your blood pressure.

Taking them one at a time makes them doable.

"Knowing what your target factors are and then working on them by that, you will actually be able to reduce your risk of developing any cardiac dysfunction or heart disease," advises Dr. Hamad.

She says that's especially important for women, because heart disease is their number one killer.

"They think about their family. They put everybody first, and they don't care about themselves. But then I always say - how are you going to care for everybody else if you don't care for yourself?" she says.

Ruppert says the event gains new fans every year.

"We have patients say, Don't foget me. Send out the flyer. I want to come. I had so much fun," she says.

There's no registration required. It all starts at 9 a-m Friday at the hospital's Rock Pavilion.