February 1 signifies an important health awareness day enacted to help save women’s lives. Wear Red Day is aimed to increase awareness of prevention of heart disease, the #1 killer of U.S. women.
Sobering statistics about women and heart disease point to the importance of monitoring heart health throughout all stages of a woman’s life:
- Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S., killing 299,578 women in 2017; heart disease claimed 301,280 women’s lives in 2019. These statistics translate to about 1 in every 5 female U.S. deaths being directly linked to heart disease each year.
- Heart disease is the leading cause of death for African American and white women in the U.S. Among Native American and Alaska Native women, heart disease and cancer cause roughly the same number of deaths each year. For Hispanic and Asian or Pacific Islander women, heart disease is second only to cancer as a cause of death.
- About 1 in 16 women ages 20 years and older — or 6.2% — have coronary heart disease, the most common type of heart disease.
- Coronary heart disease affects about 6.1% white women, 6.5% of black women and 6% Hispanic women. Coronary heart disease affects 3.2% of Asian women.
Your Capital Women’s Care team offers you valuable tips specifically geared toward women to help optimize heart health and prevent heart disease; recognize symptoms of heart attack and stroke; understand personal heart disease risk factors and how to decrease personal risk; and knowing important health numbers to monitor for maximizing heart health, all of which contribute to you enjoying a long, quality life.
Heart Healthy Tips
There are many things you can do to optimize your heart health. According to experts, heart disease is 80% preventable due to minimizing heart disease risk factors that are within our control.
Here’s a breakdown of specific actions you can take at each stage of your life to reduce your risk of heart disease.
Teen girls should focus on establishing healthy habits that continue throughout their entire lives. Good habits to establish include:
- healthy foods and eating patterns. Obesity and being overweight increases risk of heart disease. Strive for lean proteins like fish and chicken and whole fruits and vegetables. Diets high in sugar, fat and salt lead to weight gain, which in turn contributes to high blood pressure, a contributing factor of developing heart disease. Avoid processed foods and lean toward a diet complete in a variety of whole foods instead.
To get the nutrients you need, the American Heart Association recommends eating a diet of
- fruits
- vegetables
- whole grains
- low-fat dairy products
- poultry
- fish
- nuts
The AHA recommends limiting red meat plus sugary foods and beverages.
Young women diagnosed with eating disorders like anorexia nervosa or bulimia, among others, jeopardize their heart health and increase likelihood of developing heart health issues.
- daily physical activity. Women who exercise are less likely to suffer high blood pressure, be overweight or have obesity. Strive to do 150 minutes of exercise weekly, including strength training at least twice weekly. Cardio-based exercise not only strengthens your heart, but it also reduces stress and enhances your wellbeing.
- sound coping skills and stress management techniques. Stress greatly contributes to developing heart disease, as the body releases cortisol. Too much cortisol within the body promotes heart disease, as coping behaviors associated with increased stress levels like binge eating contribute to increased heart disease risk. Try walking, talking to a trusted adult or friend, or practicing yoga or tai chi as positive, healthy ways of managing stress.
- avoid risky behaviors. Smoking, vaping, drinking alcohol plus illicit drug use and abuse all contribute to increased heart disease risk. Eliminate and avoid these heart health risks now to establish and maintain good heart health practices.
- catch a good night’s sleep. Strive to get your recommended hours of sleep, especially important during the teen years. Establish a consistent, electronics-free nighttime ritual for sound sleep.
All women no matter their age need to revisit their health habits and practices often to determine if they are indeed enacting these heart-healthy habits within their daily lives to reduce lifetime personal risk of heart disease.
During a woman’s reproductive years, it’s important to continue or invest in healthy habits, even more so if you’re trying to conceive. Cardiovascular disease accounts for more than 25% of maternal mortality in the U.S. Many women who have cardiac problems during pregnancy weren’t previously diagnosed with heart disease.
Women should learn the risk factors and talk to their Capital Women’s Care practitioner about their personal risks before, during and after pregnancy. An unhealthy diet and obesity are two strong factors contributing to heart disease risk in pregnant women.
According to the AHA, hypertension (high blood pressure) rates during pregnancy have increased substantially among U.S. women hospitalized for delivery since 1993. The AHA further iterates chronic hypertension, which means having high blood pressure even before pregnancy, are also increasing.
Hypertensive disorders during pregnancy can increase risk of preeclampsia and eclampsia, which can make it more difficult for baby to receive enough oxygen and nutrients to grow, thus increasing risk of early delivery as well as mother and baby’s health.
The bottom line is to initiate healthy lifestyle habits before becoming pregnant to avoid serious consequences to your health (including those that are heart-related,) as well as those which may negatively impact your baby’s health.
Heart disease risk symptoms can become more evident after the onset of menopause. Levels of estrogen, which helps keep blood vessels relaxed and open, start to decline markedly as menopause approaches. With less estrogen, cholesterol may begin to build up on artery walls. A buildup in vessels leading to the heart or brain can increase risk of heart disease or stroke.
Women who reach menopause before age 45 have a significantly higher risk of coronary heart disease. Coronary heart disease results from plaque buildup in the arteries. Sedentary jobs, repeated pregnancy and the transition to menopause are factors leading to creeping weight gain in middle-aged women.
While menopause doesn’t initiate cardiovascular diseases, certain risk factors increase around the time in which menopause occurs. These risk factors include:
- high-fat diet
- smoking
- increased visceral (abdominal) fat
- sedentary lifestyle
- increased cholesterol levels and higher metabolic syndrome risk
- poor sleep habits and depression
- hot flashes or night sweats
An overall increase in heart attacks among women occurs about 10 years after menopause begins. It’s important for women who are in their golden years to:
- get regular heart health screenings. The AHA recommends getting your cholesterol checked every 5 years, your blood pressure checked at least every 2 years, your blood glucose levels checked every 3 years, waist circumference checked as needed and body mass index (BMI) checked during every scheduled healthcare visit.
- prioritize exercise. It’s never too late to start, even if you weren’t active previously. Walking, cycling, yoga and dance are all ways to achieve low-impact exercise that benefits your cardiovascular health. Talk with your Capital Women’s Care practitioner about establishing an exercise program within your personal health plan.
- eat a healthy diet. Healthier eating translates into efficient heart function and overall wellbeing. Learn how to eat healthy without dieting.
- stay positive. Sometimes after menopause occurs, women can suffer from depression. According to the AHA research, depression is linked to almost a doubled risk of stroke in middle-aged women. Staying positive after menopause is especially important for maintaining good heart health.
Women’s Symptoms: Heart Attack & Stroke
Most heart attacks start slowly with mild pain or discomfort. Heart attack symptoms in women may include:
- shortness of breath (with or without chest discomfort)
- nausea and light-headedness
- flu-like symptoms, including chills and cold sweats
- heart palpitations
- chest discomfort (angina) which presents as pain, tightness or pressure in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes or that goes away and returns
- discomfort in other areas, including pain or discomfort in: one or both arms (especially the left arm), back, between shoulder blades, neck, jaw or stomach
- heartburn or indigestion
- and extreme fatigue.
Strokes are not as common as heart attacks, but they often present without warning. Signs of stroke in women include:
- sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
- sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
- sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
- sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
- and sudden, severe headache with no known explanation or cause.
It’s worth noting that in some women symptoms of heart problems, like palpitations, chills or faintness, may be symptoms of perimenopause. However, if you’re experiencing these symptoms, you should see your Capital Women’s Care practitioner.
Know Your Risk Factors
There are several risk factors within your control that may be treated with lifestyle changes and help from your Capital Women’s Care practitioner:
- high blood pressure
- smoking
- high blood cholesterol
- lack of regular activity
- obesity or overweight
- and diabetes.
Even modest changes to your diet and lifestyle can improve your heart health and lower your risk by as much as 80%, according to the AHA.
Risk factors beyond control include:
- age
- gender
- heredity or genetics (family health history)
- race
- previous stroke or heart attack
Other increased heart disease risk factors specific to women include mental stress and depression, pregnancy complications, and certain inflammatory diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and others.)
Discuss your health history with your Capital Women’s Care practitioner to determine how to best monitor your heart health and incorporate those measures into your personal health plan.
Important Numbers to Know
It’s vital to get blood pressure, cholesterol levels and blood sugar levels tested regularly per your Capital Women’s Care practitioner’s recommendations based on your personal health history.
Women with prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes are more likely to have high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure and high blood sugar. What’s more, they are also likely to be overweight or obese. All these factors increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and other serious health complications.
If you have prediabetes or diabetes, it’s crucial to regularly monitor blood cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar and weight.
Monitoring these numbers are still important, even if you’re not experiencing symptoms, because there are no clear symptoms for those with prediabetes and diabetes. What’s more, these health issues may be severe before any warning signs present. High cholesterol or high blood pressure are determined through specific blood tests.
Your Capital Women’s Care team of professionals are here to answer your questions or concerns regarding your heart health or any women’s health issue. Our team of experts offer you comprehensive health care, treatment and services so you enjoy and achieve a long, quality life.
Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/women.htm
https://www.womenshealth.gov/heart-disease-and-stroke/heart-disease
https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/consumer-healthcare/what-is-cardiovascular-disease/menopause-and-heart-disease
https://www.goredforwomen.org/en/about-heart-disease-in-women/latest-research/pregnancy-and-heart-disease
https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/go-red-get-fit/maintain-weight-lower-heart-disease-risk
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