Women and Heart Disease

Heart disease is the number one killer of American women, causing 11 times as many deaths as breast cancer. According to the American Heart Association half of all women will die from cardiovascular disease (CVD). Despite this many women are more concerned about their risk of breast cancer than heart disease. It is important to educate yourself about risk factors for CVD and take steps to reduce your chances of a heart attack or stroke.

A heart attack occurs when one or more arteries supplying the heart becomes blocked. This deprives the muscle of its blood supply. Lack of an adequate blood supply can irreparably damage the heart muscle. Symptoms of a heart attack in women include chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, swelling, irregular heartbeats, nausea, sweatiness or a heaviness in the chest that may radiate to the left arm or shoulder. Obtaining prompt medical care can decrease the amount of damage to the heart muscle.

All women should assess their risks for cardiovascular disease and incorporate risk reduction measures into their lifestyles. Risk factors for CVD include advanced age, a family history of heart disease or stroke, cigarette smoking, increased cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, physical inactivity, obesity, diabetes and possibly stress. Many of these risk factors are related. For example physical inactivity is linked to obesity, high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol levels. We can’t change our age or family history but the remainder of the risk factors can be modified.

Cigarette smoking doubles the risk of CVD; smokers who have a heart attack have a worse outcome compared to nonsmokers. The good news is that quitting smoking at any age decreases that risk. After 3 years of not smoking the risk of developing heart disease is the same as a nonsmoker. However, once signs of heart disease appear the risk to a former smoker is still higher than someone who has never smoked. So it is important to stop smoking before signs of CVD appear.

Diet and exercise are critical in any program to reduce heart disease. A heart healthy diet is low in saturated fat and cholesterol, includes 5 or more servings of fruit and vegetables daily, is high in fiber, has a moderate amount of calories and includes 3-4 fish or vegetarian meals weekly. Avoid fried foods and be sure to read labels to evaluate the fat and caloric levels of prepared foods. Maintaining a healthy weight reduces the risk of heart disease. Overweight women who lose as little as 10-20 pounds can reduce cholesterol levels and the risk of heart disease. Exercise, aim for at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise daily, helps control high blood pressure, cholesterol and reduces the risk of heart disease. In some women diet and exercise are not adequate to control blood pressure and cholesterol and medications are required. Make sure your blood pressure and cholesterol are checked on a regular basis and follow your doctor’s advice regarding use of medications.

The Nurses Health study, as recently reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that women, who adhered to current recommendations regarding diet, exercise and smoking had a very low risk of heart disease. The Nurses Health study involves a large group of women whose health and lifestyle has been recorded for the last 20 years. The researchers found that women, who were not overweight, engaged in moderate to vigorous exercise 30 or more minutes a day, did not smoke and had a healthy diet, had 80% less incidence of heart attack and stroke than the general population. The incidence of heart attacks and strokes increased as the number of healthy behaviors decreased.

Everyone needs to evaluate their risk factors for heart disease and try to improve their health habits. Fortunately there are many life style changes that can be made to reduce the risks of a premature heart attack or stroke. Talk to your doctor about ways to reduce your risk of CVD.