Author: Dr. Yael Varnado
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Heart Health Awareness Month
Heart Disease doesn’t affect just old men and women! Every year more than 9,000 US women under 45 years of age suffer a heart attack.
February is Heart Health Awareness month and the American Heart Association has done a great job getting the word out to people that heart disease isn’t just a disease that affects men, but also women. BUT, most people still think heart disease is an issue for AARP members or senior citizens, which is NOT true! Heart disease is the number one cause of death for women. And although heart attacks are less common in women under the age of 50 when they do occur women are 2x more likely to die in the hospital than men.
American women are 4-6 times more likely to die of heart disease than breast cancer and heart disease kills more women than ALL cancer combined.
For many years research in the medical community focused on men and cardiovascular health. Therefore, it is no surprise that more than 50% of women do not know that heart disease is the #1 cause of death of women, let alone know what healthy values are for their own blood pressure and cholesterol. The American Heart Association reports 90% of women already have one or more risk factors for heart disease which include:
high blood pressure high cholesterol smoking family history low level of physical activity
You may not have heart disease now, but prevention and good living can help ward off heart disease later. Most women are too busy taking care of everyone else in their lives to take a moment for themselves. It’s necessary to stop running, be still, and tune into what’s going on with your own body!
Learn the warning signs of a heart attack, because when symptoms start every minute counts. I’d rather wait and know what’s wrong than rush to the hospital. BAD idea!!! About half of deaths from a heart attack occur within 1 hour of the onset of symptoms and before the person even reaches the hospital. When symptoms start DON’T WAIT CALL 911! How quickly should I act? If you have symptoms, call 911 immediately. Don’t wait more than 5 minutes. If you wait too long some treatments may not be available to you to restore blood flow to the heart.
Warning Signs & Symptoms Women Commonly Experience:
When having a heart attack women don’t always experience the same chest clenching pain or “elephant standing on my chest” feeling like men. Many heart attacks start slowly, with mild chest discomfort or pain. Read below for other common warning signs of a heart attack women experience:
- Chest discomfort: often in the center of your chest or left side that lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and then comes back
- Chest pressure, squeezing, fullness, sharp or gnawing pain, or even heartburn
- Tiredness or odd “blah” feeling
- Discomfort in the arms, jaw, back, or neck
- Shortness of breath
- Sweating
- Nausea
- Light-headedness
Check out the American Heart Association’s website for the Go Red for Women Campaign and this video that shows why even though you’re busy you’re not too busy to take care of your heart!
Wishing you a happy healthy heart.
Dr. V
Play Right at Night
This week Live Right At Night is all about .. Playing Right At Night .. specifically Superbowl Night!
You know the words …sing along ladies: “Are you ready for some football?” Super Bowl weekend is here and New Orleans isn’t the only place people will be partying. The Ravens and 49ers have been prepping for Sunday’s big game and each has a gameplan to help them bring that trophy back to their respective hometowns. Now let’s talk about your gameplan that’s sure to help you guarantee game night will be fun and safe!
I love Super Bowl Sunday! From the commercials and halftime show, the die-hard fan that shows up in his/her team’s full regalia, and to the chicken wings and dip, I enjoy everything about the day that’s practically a national holiday. I’m sure many of you do as well and will be enjoying it in a couple of days, which is why I’m going to suggest that all you ladies out there have a gameplan of your own so that you get through the evening happy, healthy, and fabulous. It will also ensure you aren’t playing Monday Morning Quarterback around the water cooler saying “damn, my head hurts, why did I drink so much last night?”
Dr. V’s Superbowl XLVII Gameplan:
Here are a couple winning plays for your playbook:
1) Travel Safe: If you are going to drink make sure you aren’t driving. Police are on heightened alert this weekend. Why not carpool to your Super Bowl party or arrange an alternate form of transportation. Don’t wait and then pick the least drunk person to drive home at the end of the night. Plan ahead pick a poor soul who promises to NOT drink at all to drive you home or call a taxi or use public transportation.
2) Pace yourself: The food is going to flow just as freely as the drinks. Did you know that 1.5 billion chicken wings are served during Super Bowl weekend? Reports say there may even be a chicken shortage. However, this doesn’t mean you need to stockpile food on your plate. One chicken wing can have up to 150 calories. And if you are eating out at a sportsbar a chicken wing appetizer loaded with sauce can have up to 1700 calories. YES, that’s right that’s more calories in an appetizer than you should be eating all day. So pick and choose wisely what you want to eat. Bake instead of fry, and nibble on alternative items such as vegetables, Pop Chips, veggie wings and more. Also, posting up next to the buffet is definitely a “busted play!”
3) Remember Booze & Soda Pack on the Calories Too: Just because it’s clear doesn’t mean it’s calorie free. Alcohol is an easy way to quickly add calories especially with mixers and juice. Switch out juice or regular soda, which can have up to 300 calories for lower calorie options like Mio or Crystal light – which only have 5 calories or have a calorie free diet soda. You can mix you favorite cocktail with diet tonic or seltzer water, which has 0 calories, or reach for a light beer often around 64 calories.
4) Be safe if your halftime show starts when the game is over .. wink wink: You met a cutie and connected over which Harbaugh brother is your favorite and BOOM now you are back at this new cutie’s place. Make sure that whatever you do late at night you do safely. No judgment if you take a condom or two with you to a Super Bowl party, it doesn’t mean you are plotting and planning to make a touchdown that night, it’s sorta like tossing an umbrella in your purse, you have it just in case. 🙂
Have a great Superbowl weekend and go Ravens!
Dr. V
#LiveRightAtNight – Drink Right at Night
This week ladies we are discussing ways to Drink Right at Night.
The end of the week is here and many of us will be celebrating the conclusion of our workweek and beginning of the weekend with an adult beverage 🙂 There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a glass of wine, champagne, or even a screwdriver, but ladies please I caution you about throwing back that 4th, 5th or 6th drink at home or at the bar.
First: did you know that depending on if it’s that time of the month, you may actually get drunker faster? Yes it’s true! The fluctuating hormones in your body can affect how tipsy you feel after drinking. So you may be able to handle that 2nd or 3rd vodka and soda easily when you aren’t on your period, but may not be quite as sober if Aunt Flo is visiting.
Second: The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has released a new study showing that “23,000 women and girls die from alcohol-related deaths each year. Of those deaths, 12,000 are the result of binge drinking.” What do you ask is binge drinking? Great question, binge drinking for a woman is defined as having more than 4 drinks in 2 hours; for a man it is defined as 5 or more drinks in 2 hours. WHOA! Hold on now ladies, I know what you are thinking. Heck, I have 70 year old patients who have a glass or two or four of wine every night with dinner. Does that mean your granny is binge drinking too?? Well, NO, not necessarily. Our body size, genetics, and tolerance for alcohol dictates what our physical response may be towards alcohol. And many critics believe that the CDC’s report stating 14 million women binge drink (where they have an average of 6 alcoholic beverages at one sitting) about three times a month is a bit steep. You may feel the same way, but what the study does do is bring attention to the fact that many of us young ladies are consuming alcohol on a regular basis and sometimes in excess.
Most of us don’t go out every weekend and get fall down hold-my hair-while-I-pray to-the-porcelain-god drunk, but may have been in that place perhaps once in our lives. The unfortunate thing is that binge drinking can have serious health concerns in the immediate and long term ranging from drunk driving related injuries to memory loss, breast cancer, liver and heart disease.
Here are a couple safe drinking tips ladies:
Slow and steady wins the race. As I always say sloppy isn’t sexy. It applies to many things in our lives, and is absolutely applicable to our drinking practices. If you prefer to drink your calories versus eat them make sure to alternate your drinks with a glass of water. That liquor will sneak up on you faster than it will for the sexy many you are pounding shots with at the bar.
Second, eat a little something that will absorb alcohol in your system before you begin your night of drinking. Yes, 4th meal is popular and a burger and fries sounds yummy after drinking but it’s a bad option to try and chase the alcohol in your stomach with grease. Opt for something starchy (I recognize flour wheat carbs is a dirty four letter word) but starting your night with a high fiber low calorie English muffin is better than a salad in your stomach before a long night of drinking. You can save some of your calories by going light on the juice and mixers instead. Also, if you find that you babysit your drinks and they always end up watered-down try to go light on the ice, or instead of ice try soda water.
Finally, let’s talk about the morning after ladies: If you do happen to have one too many and your head is pounding in the AM, don’t reach for a grande latte or black coffee, that will simply dehydrate you and cause your headache to worsen. Opt instead to hydrate yourself with water or a Gatorade or even Pedialyte.
Have a fabulous weekend and live right tonight!
Dr. V