Weekly Article
Heart Disease and Women – A More Serious Risk Than Many Believe The good news is that there seems to be an increasing awareness about the dangers of heart disease for women. The bad news is that old perceptions are difficult to overcome and most still view heart disease as a serious health concern experienced primarily by men. The truth is heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis are devastating for women and according to the American Heart Association is the leading cause of death for American women. In fact, twice the number of women in the United States will die of heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases than from all forms of cancer, including breast cancer. There are a number of risk factors that play a role in bringing about heart related illness in women. Generally speaking, the more risk factors the better the chances of having a heart attack or stroke. Some risk factors can be controlled while others such as increasing age, family health history, and race cannot. An astounding eight out of every ten women ages 40 to 60 have one or more risk factors for heart disease. Having one or more risk factors dramatically increases a woman’s chance of developing heart disease with a single risk factor doubling the chances of heart disease. Regardless of age a woman need to do everything possible to protect their heart health. Most women tend to think that if they aren’t old enough to have a cane then heart disease is not really worth taking seriously enough to make lifestyle adjustments. This couldn’t be further from the truth with some cases being diagnoses as early as the teenage years. So whether you are a woman age 16, 20, 30, 40, or older (perhaps needing that cane) it is important to identify the risks and take action to reduce their impact on your cardiovascular health. Some alarming statistics seem to suggest that many women are ignoring some of the most dangerous risk factors with 17.3 percent being smokers, 51.6 percent being overweight (BMI of 25 or greater), 27 percent having high blood pressure, 35 percent having high cholesterol, and 53 percent not getting enough exercise. African American and Hispanic women, in particular, have a higher incidence for certain risk factors and are disproportionately affected by heart related disease. A few of the more sobering of these are that 80 percent of midlife African American women are overweight or obese, just over half have high blood pressure, and 15 percent have been diagnosed with diabetes. Among Hispanic women 83 percent are overweight or obese, and approximately 12 percent have been diagnosed with diabetes. These numbers could in reality be even higher as many lower income African American and Hispanic women do not have the means, or desire, to seek medical attention. A Good First Step For Ensuring Heart Health Is To Reduce Cholesterol When too much cholesterol is consumed it tends to build up in our arteries leading to myriad of cardiovascular problems. According to the American Heart Association there are three steps a woman should take to reduce the cardiovascular risks associated with high LDL (bad cholesterol) levels: *Keep daily saturated fat intake to under 7 percent of total daily calories. *Completely eliminate trans fat from the diet. *Limit cholesterol intake to under 300 milligrams a day for adults. In conclusion, what becomes clear is there is a lot a woman can do (eat right, exercise regularly, avoid cigarette smoke, implement a cholesterol reducing natural supplement daily) to reduce her chances of having a heart attack or stroke but getting motivated enough to take action is an entirely different story. Perhaps one reasons for this is heart disease in women gradually becomes a problem over a long period of time and may only providing subtle hints (if any at all) that something could be wrong. When signs start to appear such as: unexplained weight fluctuation, fluid accumulation around the ankles, numbness, shortness of breath, sweating, lack of mental clarity, difficulty breathing, chest pain, numbness, and dizziness a serious arterial blockage likely has already occurred. By some estimates when one or more of these signs appear arterial blockage is in excess of 70 percent. It goes without saying that if you are experiencing any of the warning signs of cardiovascular disease listed above you should see your doctor immediately before things take an unexpected turn for the worst. And lastly remember this: By doing just 4 things - eating right, not smoking, being physically active, and keeping a healthy weight - you can reduce your risk of heart disease by as much as 82 percent. |
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