“Heart disease is a man’s disease.” “I’m too young.” “Breast cancer is my real threat.”
If you’ve heard or said any of this before, you’re not alone. Despite increases in awareness over the past decades, only about half (56%) of women recognize that heart disease is their leading killer, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
“Heart disease is a killer that strikes more women than men and is more deadly than all forms of cancer combined,” said Kismet Rasmusson, NP, Intermountain Health Heart and Vascular Program. “While one in 31 American women dies from breast cancer each year, heart disease is the cause of one out of every three deaths. That’s roughly one death each minute.”
Heart disease affects women of all ages. For younger women, the combination of birth control pills and smoking boosts heart disease risks by 20 percent. And while the risks do increase with age, things like overeating and a sedentary lifestyle can cause plaque to accumulate and lead to clogged arteries later in life. “But even if you lead a completely healthy lifestyles, being born with an underlying heart condition can be a risk factor,” said Rasmusson.
Sixty-four percent of women who die suddenly of coronary heart disease had no previous symptoms. Because these symptoms vary greatly between men and women, they’re often misunderstood.
“Many of us have been conditioned to believe that the telltale sign of a heart attack is extreme chest pain,” said Rasmusson. “But in reality, women are somewhat more likely to experience shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain. Other symptoms women should look out for are dizziness, feeling lightheaded or fainting, pain in the lower chest or upper abdomen and extreme fatigue.”
Major risk factors for heart disease include high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes, obesity or being overweight, smoking, physical inactivity, heredity, and age. Factors that could lead to an increased risk include stress and excessive alcohol consumption. For women, that means more than one drink a day.
“Your best bet for fighting heart disease is to know which risk factors affect you. The more risk factors you have, the greater your risk for heart disease,” said Rasmusson. “Starting at age 20, women should know their blood pressure and cholesterol levels. One red flag is a high level of LDL – sometimes called “bad” cholesterol — which clogs arteries, and a low level of HDL – or “good” cholesterol — which clears arteries.”
Rasmusson suggests everyone know their risk factors and make simple lifestyle changes improve heart health, including:”
- Reach and keep a healthy weight. You’ll reduce your blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes risk, hitting three key risk factors at once.
- Trim saturated fat and salt from your diet. When you can, trade butter for heart-healthy canola or olive oil. Swap red meat for seafood, a good source of omega-3 fats that help reduce triglycerides, clotting, and blood pressure.
- Move more. Exercising at a moderate to high intensity for 40 minutes on average, 3 to 4 days a week, can lower your blood pressure, strengthen your heart, decrease stress, and result in weight loss.
- Quit smoking. Smoking is the most common risk factor for women and triples your heart attack risk.
- De-stress daily. Finding ways to defuse stress will help slow your breathing and heart rate as you lower your blood pressure.
“Although women with a family history of heart disease are at higher risk, there’s plenty you can do to dramatically reduce it. Simply create an action plan to keep your heart healthy. Because of healthy choices and knowing the signs, more than 670,000 of women have been saved from heart disease, and 300 fewer are dying per day,” said Rassmusson.
For information on women and heart disease, go to IntermountainHealthcare.org.
This is an article written by an employee of Intermountain Health in collaboration with Cedar Valley Sentinel. It is used with permission on Cedar Valley Sentinel. Copyright stays with Intermountain Health.