|
Womens Heart Attack – Reverse The Risk and Live Longer
Understanding that womens heart attack is not something to be ignored can make a tremendous difference in your life. All because you are a woman does not mean you are not at risk of heart disease.
Before we start, one point well worth considering is that it takes much less effort to prevent cardiovascular disease that to reverse it.
Most people are aware that the heart is a muscle that pumps blood continuously to nourish your entire body, including the heart itself. No days off, it never rests. A heart attack is the result of the blood being blocked and not being able to supply the heart with the nourishment it needs. This occurs when one or more of the coronary arteries become blocked due to a build-up of cholesterol (stenosis) or due to a thrombus.
There is a common misconception that womens heart attacks are rare
It is commonly thought that heart disease and heart attacks are normally reserved for men. Well, this is simply not true. Cardiovascular disease (heart attack, stroke, etc.) is the number 1 killer of American women. It is estimated that approximately half a million women will die this year alone from heart disease.
Breast cancer, although terrible, is not the number 1 cause of death in women. In fact, if we combine all types of cancer, not just breast cancer, the number of deaths would be about half that of cardiovascular disease! Statistics show that the incidence of breast cancer in women is 4%, whereas heart disease is over 35%. According to the National Council for Health Statistics, the incidence of cardiovascular disease in women between the ages of 45-64 is 1 in 9. At 65 years, and above the incidence is 1 women in every 3.
Womens heart attacks are much more common than you probably thought, but the good news is there is a lot you can do to reduce your risk.
Take regular exercise,
Reduce weight until you reach your ideal body weight for your height,
Eat a well balanced health diet, keeping your fats, especially saturated fats, as low as possible,
If you are prescribed blood pressure pills, take them as indicated by your doctor,
If you are prescribed cholesterol reducing drugs, take them as indicated by your doctor,
Control diabetes mellitus — Compared to women without diabetes, women with diabetes have from two to six times the risk of heart disease and heart attack and are at much greater risk of having a stroke. People with diabetes often have high blood pressure and high cholesterol and are overweight, increasing their risk even more.
If you smoke, don’t cut down – quit!
Following the above simple steps has proven to help reduce the risk of womens heart attacks and help improve the quality and quantity of life. Don’t take risks, live your life to the full!
Finally, in a recent article published by Dr. Lori Mosca, director of preventive cardiology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. “Even though heart disease is the top killer of U.S. women and men, doctors are giving women short shrift when it come to preventive care, according to studies published. Women are less likely to get drugs to lower their cholesterol, to get daily aspirin therapy to lower the risk of heart attack and stroke, or to be given the scans that can diagnose heart disease.”
© Copyright 2023, AllAbout Heart Disease
|