Heart disease prevention is not only a concern of men, amazingly, it is the leading cause of death in American women. Doctors say this is because women are unaware that they are at risk. Learn more!
Heart disease is not only a concern of men, amazingly, it is the leading cause of death in American women. Doctors say this is because women are unaware that they are at risk and do not know what signs to look for that they
are having a heart attack.
If you know what the signs are that you are having a heart attack you won't make the mistake that many women make. This mistake is waiting until hours or even days after the heart attack to go to the emergency room. Many
women will wait, thinking that the pains in their chest or arm will go away, never suspecting that they are experiencing a heart attack. This is dangerous
because the more you delay medical attention the chance decreases of preserving the heart muscle. Permanent damage can occur.
The most common symptom for men and women that they are having a heart attack is chest pain. Women, however, sometimes will feel left arm pain, jaw, back shoulder or abdomen pain. There may also be shortness of breath,
nausea, heart palpitations, dizziness and sweating.
There are some factors that will put you at risk for a heart attack. Knowing these risks can help you prevent a heart attack in most cases. There are a few risks that nothing can be done against and these are aging, heredity and race.
We all face a higher risk of heart disease as we age. Some people are at a familial risk for heart disease if previous family members had it. Black women over the age of 60 experience heart disease more than women of other races. All of these are risks, but there are things you can do to control your higher risk factor by changing your behavior.
If you smoke you need to quit. Women who smoke are increasing their risk of heart disease by six.
Losing weight will lower your risk factor. Overweight women suffer heart disease more often than thin women.
Make sure you are aerobically in shape. Doing 30 minutes each day of exercise that elevates your heart rate will greatly reduce your risk of heart disease. Walking, playing tennis, swimming, dancing, yard work etc. are all
good activities.
Have a blood cholesterol test to test your levels of good and bad cholesterol.
LDL-C cholesterol is the "˜bad' cholesterol and the level should be below 130. If you have diabetes, LDL should be below 100. Good cholesterol is HDL-C and that level should be above 45. To keep these levels where they should be, the American Heart Association recommends
eating less of the saturated fats, like butter and junk foods. Eat more vegetables, breads, fruits, skim milk and lean meats.
