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. Even though you’re busy you’re not too busy to take care of your heart!
XO
Dr. V