During the month of February, The Bermuda Heart Foundation is sending out an all-points alert about a silent killer in our midst.

This fiend stalks anyone who sits still long enough to be caught.

Its modus operandi is often to tempt its victims with the smell of frying food.

"Keep moving if you want to avoid being snuffed out by Bermuda's leading cause of death – a heart attack," warned Simone Barton, executive director of the Bermuda Heart Foundation.

The Bermuda Heart Foundation is a charity that seeks to educate the public about heart disease, and also does health screenings for the community.

On February 1, people can actually try to track down this "silent killer" on a 'Heart Smart Mystery Walk' which is to take place at the Botanical Gardens from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The mystery walk is part of a series of informative and fun events coming up during February, recognised as Heart Smart Month.

"We have taken the game Clue (a board game where participants try to solve a murder mystery using a series of clues) and brought it to life from a health perspective," said Ms Barton.

"Someone is going to have a heart attack. Participants have to figure out what caused the death. They will follow a trail of clues laid out on a walk around the Botanical Gardens."

Other events during the month of February include health lectures for the general public, cooking demonstrations, health screenings, fitness activities, a cocktail reception and a talk on congenital heart problems in children.

On February 6, the Bermuda Heart Foundation wants to paint the Island red (but not in an Agatha Cristie kind of way).

"This is a cry for everyone to pay attention to heart disease," said Ms Barton. "We want everyone to wear red to show awareness of heart disease."

She said a lot of Bermudians believe traffic accidents or cancer to be the leading cause of death here, when in fact heart disease and cardiovascular disease kills one in three of us.

Cardiovascular disease refers to the class of diseases that involve the heart and/or blood vessels (arteries and veins) including: acute myocardial infarction, ischaemic heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, arrhythmias, high blood pressure and stroke.

"We are practically there in terms of having a heart disease epidemic," said Ms Barton. "There are a great deal of diabetic patients who die from heart disease."

She said that heart disease is often called "the leisure disease".

"We are sitting back and we are very contented," said Ms Barton. "We don't walk. We eat fatty foods and we just sit there.

"We do not move enough as a society, as a Country and as a whole. That is why the Bermuda Heart Foundation really wants to just get out there and do events like this."

She wanted people to understand that exercise doesn't have to be a marathon.

"You could just walk for thirty minutes a day," she said. "You might even see an improvement in your health just deciding to eat a healthy meal once a week."

During the month of February, the Bermuda Heart Foundation is also looking for 'heart angels' to help collect donations for programmes, particularly for its free community screenings. Participation forms are available on the Heart Foundation website, where donations can also be made.

"Screenings do save lives and save hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance fees," said Ms Barton. "That is why we are asking people to help us raise funds.

"It is all about prevention and that is what our mandate is for 2009.

"Even if you just got ten friends to donate $10, that would be a help."

The Bermuda Heart Foundation health screenings may already have helped save lives recently.

"Just last week we did a screening and sent two people straight to their doctors," said Ms Barton. "Too many people on this Island are dying from what is a preventable disease. It has to stop."

The public will get a chance to quiz the local cardiac experts during a lecture called 'House Call' on February 12 in the Gardenia Room at the Fairmont Southampton.

"This is a public forum," said Ms Barton. "All are invited."

There will be a professional symposium from February 12 to 15 at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute (BUEI). Space is limited.

Three talks are scheduled in the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital Conference Room at 7 p.m. – nutritionist Jessica Wade on February 2, Anne Mello on heart health exercises on February 16 and Sarah McKittrick on diabetes and heart disease prevention on February 23.

For the full range of activities visit ww.mybermudaheart.bm or telephone 239-2052. Some lectures have limited space, so it is better to call in advance.