Heart Disease is the
leading cause of hospitalization and death among mid-life and
older women in the United States. More than one in five
women has some form of heart or blood vessel disease and the chance
of a woman having heart disease increases with age. One in every
three women will die of coronary heart disease or heart attack,
and the death rate is about 35% higher for African-American women.
Many women believe cancer is the number one killer of females
but, according to the American Heart Association, nearly
twice as many women in the U.S. die of cardiovascular disease
as from all forms of cancer. However, take heart, because there
are ways to decrease risks for heart disease.
Heart, or cardiovascular
disease is a condition in which insufficient amounts of oxygen
rich blood flow to your heart, causing the heart muscle to deteriorate
and, if not treated, die. The usual cause of this condition
is a blockage in the coronary arteries, due to an accumulation
of a fatty substance called cholesterol.
While many of the
risk factors associated with heart disease are controllable, the
disease is often diagnosed late and many women are unaware of
its symptoms and warning signs. Delayed diagnosis and treatment
increases mortality rates. Understanding the risks, knowing
the symptoms, and what can be done to help prevent this life threatening
disease is vital.
Women seem to be partly
protected from the risk of heart attack before menopause. Estrogen
increases the amount of good cholesterol (HDL) and decreases the
amount of bad cholesterol (LDL) in the body. During menopause,
women's ovaries stop producing estrogen; consequently, the amount
of bad cholesterol rises and increases a woman's risk of heart
attack. After menopause, a woman's risk of experiencing a heart
attack begins to rise steadily. If menopause is brought on by
a surgery to remove the uterus and ovaries, the risk of heart
attack rises sharply. When menopause occurs naturally, the
risk may develop more slowly. However, research shows that
hormone replacement therapy after menopause may lower a woman's
risk of coronary disease. (Some data, however, has questioned
this propostion but that, too, has been criticized.)
The following list
of risk factors might be an alert to discuss with a physician
your chance of heart disease:
Many of the important
risk factors for coronary disease are correctable, such as smoking,
high cholesterol, high blood pressure and lack of physical activity.
If you stop smoking, the risk of a heart attack drops sharply.
It is important to
speak with the doctor about having cholesterol levels checked
periodically. If a cholesterol level is high, you can reduce
your risk with diet changes such as reducing the fat in diet,
increasing physical activity and avoiding smoking.
If this doesn't lower cholesterol, speak with a doctor about taking
one of the cholesterol lowering drugs.
More than half of
all women over the age of 55 have high blood pressure. It
often has no symptoms. It is usually defined as a blood
pressure reading of 140/90 or higher. It is important to
have your blood pressure checked often. (Ask your doctor how often
for your health situation.) For some women, decreasing the
salt in their diet, losing weight. limiting alcohol intake, and
increasing exercise may help. If they do not, it may
be prudent to speak to your doctor about medication.
If you are a couch
potato, this is just one more reason to get out and exercise.
Lack of exercise may lead to an overweight condition which then
can lead to increased cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.
The American Heat Association recommends vigorous activity in
order to condition your heart. However, be sure to check
with your doctor before starting any vigorous exercise program.
There are some common warning signs of heart attacks that everyone
should know:
(1) Uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in the
center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or goes
away and comes back.
(2) Pain that spreads to the shoulders, neck and arms.
(3) Chest discomfort with lightheadedness, fainting, sweating,
nausea or shortness of breath.
According to The American
Heart Association, women may also have other less common warning
signs such as:
-
Atypical chest pain, stomach or abdominal pain.
-
Nausea or dizziness.
-
Shortness of breath and difficulty breathing.
-
Unexplained anxiety, weakness or fatigue.
-
Palpitations, cold sweat or paleness.
If you have any
of the above symptoms get emergency medical help immediately.
Immediate treatment can reduce the damage to the heart only in
the first few hours after the symptoms begin.
Today much more is
known about heart disease in women. Access to new information
and medical technology to help prevent this deadly illness is
available. To reduce your risk it is important to take responsibility
for your health and partner with your doctor and by following
medical instructions and changing one's lifestyle, if needed,
this number one killer of women can be licked.
Note: For more information on women and heart disease contact,
American Medical Women's Association
or The American Heart
Association.
Editor's Note: We're linking to a CDC article helpful in terms of
ethnic diversity and heart disease: Women
and Heart Disease: An Atlas of Racial and Ethnic Disparities
.
