Healthy Inspiration: Heart Disease the Number One Killer

Healthy Inspiration 2010: This is serious

Almost half of you still don't know that heart disease is the leading cause of death in women.
Just a little more than half of you would call for emergency help if they were having heart attack symptoms
and
Only about half of you know what heart attack symptoms are.

This is 2010, and education about heart disease being womens number one killer has been publicized since 1999. Why is it that:
1. Only 53 percent of you said you would call 911 if you were having heart attack symptoms.
2. Just over half of you said the biggest barrier to taking preventive steps against heart disease are family and care-taking responsibilities.

Healthy Inspiration: Know the myths

For example, 82 percent of you said you believed that fish oil would help you prevent heart disease, and 29 percent said aromatherapy could be helpful.

Know the facts:

If you have chest pain, pressure or a squeezing sensation that doesn't go away after a few minutes, you need to call 911. You may also feel nauseous or have jaw pain.

If you're having symptoms call 911. If you later find out it's not a heart attack, you'll still get the right cardiology testing.
You will know something isn't right. Forget about not wanting to bother anyone. Call 911 even if it turns out to be a false alarm.


Healthy Inspiration: Heart Disease is the killer, but what does the normal heart do?

The heart is a muscle. It is the workhorse that sustains life. A normal heart takes blood from the lungs that has oxygen attached to it and sends it on to the rest of the body. It also takes the blood from the body and sends it to the lungs to receive oxygen. That makes the heart the main junction of the blood stream.

A heart attack, or myocardial infarction (MI), causes severe pain in the heart muscle and is a message telling you that a part of your heart is dying. This happens when a blockage of fatty deposits, or plaque, in a heart stops the flow of blood and oxygen to part of your heart. Other times a small piece of plaque can break off and a blood clot will form around it in the blood vessel, also shutting off the blood and oxygen. Without oxygen that part of your heart muscle begins to die, and it causes the pain of a heart attack.

Healthy Inspiration: Know the risk factors.

Risk factors for heart disease are:
1. Smoking (Women who smoke and use birth control pills increase their risk even more.)
2. High cholesterol
3. Low levels of "good" cholesterol (high density lipoprotein or HDL) appear to be a stronger predictor of heart disease death in women over-65.
4. High blood levels of triglycerides (another type of fat) may also be an important risk factor in women.
5.High blood pressure.
6.Diabetes.
7.Lack of exercise.
8.Obesity.
(Regular physical activity and a healthy weight reduces the risk of non-insulin-dependent diabetes(type 2 diabetes), which appears to be a major risk factor for heart disease in women)
9.family history
10. age
Women Heart Women Heart is a coalition and community with more than 17,000 members nationwide.

435,000 American women have heart attacks each year. Of those Heart disease kills 32% or* 267,000 American Women each year. Some women mistakenly think only crushing chest pain is a symptom of a heart attack, and put off getting medical care.

Healthy Inspiration: Know the symptoms.



What are the signs of heart disease in women?
Get The Facts
The most important sign is feeling really tired--even after enough sleep.

Other signs of heart disease in women are:

1. Trouble breathing
2. Trouble sleeping
3. Feeling sick to your stomach
4. Stomach or abdominal pain different from any other pain you have had.
5. Pain in your belly, above the belly button
6. Feeling scared or nervous
7. New or worse headaches
8. An ache in your chest
9. Feeling "heavy" or "tight" in your chest
10. A burning feeling in your chest
11. Pain in your back, between the shoulders
12. Pain or tightness in your chest that spreads to your jaw, neck, shoulders, ear, or the inside of your arms
13. Dizziness.
14. Unexplained weakness.
15. Feeling cold and sweaty, and pale skin
16. Swelling of your ankles and/or lower legs.

These symptoms can also be signs of other problems, only examination by a doctor, who will give you an electrocardiogram (EKG) and/or a blood test, can confirm if you are having a heart attack.
Healthcare providers can fail to recognize heart attack symptoms by believing the cause of symptoms are other problems, such as indigestion.

Healthy Inspiration: Insist that the doctor or nurse get an EKG test and an enzyme blood test to see if you are having a heart attack.

The most important thing to do if you think you are having heart attack symptoms is to call an ambulance and get to a hospital emergency room as quickly as possible so a doctor can examine and treat you. If you are having a heart attack, the faster you can get treatment, the less damage will happen to your heart. Also, crush or chew a full-strength aspirin (swallow with a glass of water) to prevent further blood clotting.

If you feel your heart flutter and you have other symptoms such as dizziness or shortness of breath (feeling like you can't get enough air), call 911 right away.

Women are less likely to survive heart attacks than men. Perhaps women don't seek or receive treatment as soon as men, or maybe women's smaller hearts and blood vessels are more easily damaged.

Healthy Inspiration: What ever the reason, it makes sense to prevent heart problems before they start.
American Heart.org
Prevention of a heart attack will involve the following:
1. Smoking is a major risk factor for heart disease in women.
2. Treating high blood pressure can lower your risk of heart attack and stroke.
3. Losing weight, exercising regularly, and eating a healthy diet are all ways to help control high blood pressure.
4.Reducing how much salt you eat can also help.
5. Extra weight also puts strain on your heart and arteries(blood vessels).
6. Exercise and a low-fat diet can help you lose weight.
7. Diet is a key part of lowering high cholesterol levels.
8. Keep fat calories to 30% or less of the total calories you eat during a day, and avoid saturated fat (the fat in meats and coconut oil).
9. Take care of diabetes. If you have diabetes, regular exercise, weight control, a low-fat diet, and regular doctor visits are important

Healthy Inspiration: You can take steps to keep your heart healthy.
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