Heart Disease...Things Women Should Be Aware Of...

Many women are scared about getting breast cancer, often unaware of a much larger threat to their health; heart disease. It is the number one killer of American women, while breast cancer is number six according to the CDC. On average, one woman dies every 90 seconds from heart disease. This in of itself is a startling statistic...

The condition affects women differently than men, as women may have different risk factors and symptoms. You can protect yourself from this killer, but you first need to understand these surprising facts about women and heart disease. Although the most common symptom of a heart attack is chest pain, it's not always severe and often gets mistaken for heart burn or acid indigestion.

The National Women's Health Information Center lists these other unexpected syptoms
to watch out for:

1.] Shortness of breathe.
2.] Nausea or vomiting.
3.] Pain in the back, neck or jaw.
4.] Heartburn or indigestion.
5.] Unusual fatigue.

While high blood pressure has long been documented as a risk factor of heart disease, are you aware that taking the birth control pill may elevate your blood pressure on a continuum? This is specifically true if you are obese, were hypertensive during pregnancy, or have a positive family history of high blood pressure (hypertension). Monitoring your blood pressure prior to starting on birth control pills as well as periodically during your drug regimen is very important. The cardiovascular risks for women of being on the pill tend to rise after age 35.

Depression has been associated with early signs of heart disease. It can worsen your chances of survival once you have heart disease. One reason may be that it's harder to maintain a healthy lifestyle when you are down, although it is also possible that depression may cause physiological changes such as heart rhythm problems that are bad for the heart.

Unfortunately, women are 2-3 times more likely than men to suffer from depression. according to the National Women's Health Resource Center. If you notice signs of depression, such as a loss of interest in your daily activities, feeling hopeless, or unexplained changes in weight or appetite, then seek out treatment.

Smoking is always a major cause of heart disease for both men and women. However, women who smoke have a greater risk for stroke or heart attack. On top of this, women who are taking birth control pills have a higher risk of heart attack and stroke than nonsmokers on the pill.

Once you reach menopause, your risk of heart disease increases because your levels of the estrogen hormone drop. When I was working as a nurse in cardiac surgery recovery and then as a cardiac perfusionist, I saw this numerous times. Outside of smokers, women had a significantly less incidence of coronary artery disease than men until they went through menopause. At that point, the ratios evened out rather quickly. Before menopause, estrogen protects women from heart disease. But do not think that taking supplemental estrogen is the answer once you are postmenopausal. Research actually shows that certain forms of hormone replacement therapy slightly increase a postmenopausal woman's risk of heart attack and stroke. Though you may take hormone therapy postmenopausal to control those uncomfortable symptoms, such as hot flashes, so do not think this therapy is protecting you from heart disease.

Another interesting statistic is that heart disease does not hit all women equally. African-American women and Hispanic women tend to have more risk factors for heart disease than white women, such as obesity, lack of physical activity, diabetes, and high blood pressure. So women in these ethnic origins should be more sensitive to these risk factors and doe their best to avoid them as much as possible.

Heart disease is a significant problem for women of various ethnic backgrounds as well as women who are postmenopausal. Women should begin at an early age to develop health eating habits, as well as a daily exercise regimen. Be cognizant or food preparation with respect to sodium intake, as well as foods that are heavily laced with refined carbohydrates and animal fats. Talk to your doctor. Talk to your spouse or domestic partner. Talk to your family and friends. Educate yourself. This communication is "Empowering". We should be way past the days of embarrassing feelings and lack of communication. We should "Empower Ourselves" through healthy dialogue and education. Together we can decrease the incidence of heart disease and strokes...the silent killers...