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Don’t just eat healthy and exercise for the sake of your heart - do it for your brain.

According to studies, the same factors that have made heart disease a leading cause of death are causing a rising incidence of brain maladies such as stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

You can learn more about the connection in Heart and Brain Health, one of the features of this edition of Health Connections.

Also featured in this issue is an article about the unique risk factors for stroke faced by women.

As explained in Stroke Risks for Women, pregnancy, preeclampsia and chronic stress can increase the risk for high blood pressure, a leading cause of stroke. Caring for oneself by understanding risk factors can help reduce the risk for stroke and improve the quality of life.

Being a parent means juggling child rearing with a job and many other responsibilities. But given all those demands, proper meal planning can help ensure proper and budgetfriendly nutrition for everyone in the family.

Learn some tips and hacks for planning breakfast, lunch and dinner in Mastering Meal Planning.

Dr. Jeremy Curry of Yuma Valley Advanced Pain Management is the health care professional profiled this month in 10 Minutes With.

Also find out about medical professionals who are new to our community in the Health Happenings column.

We hope you enjoy Health Connections magazine.

John Vaughn can be reached at jvaughn@yumasun.com or (928) 539-6850.