IT’S NOT JUST FOR MEN ANYMORE . .

Heart Disease Prevention

Cardiac Rehabiliation

Cardiologists at Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center

By Thelma Lawson
Vital Recovery Center, Cardiac Rehabilitation Service

A recent national study conducted by the American Heart Association (AHA) revealed that fewer than 50% of American women know that heart disease is their leading killer.  More women were aware of this fact than in previous studies in 1997 and 2000, but there is still a lot of room for improvement.  Misconceptions still exist that cardiovascular disease is not a real problem for women. 

Heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 and No. 3 killers of women over the age of 25.  Heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases claim the lives of nearly 500,000 women each year – about a death a minute.  That’s more lives that the next seven causes of death combined, and nearly twice as many as all forms of cancer, including breast cancer.  One in five females in the United States has some form of cardiovascular disease.  Every year since 1984, more women than men have died of heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases.  Of the total number of deaths in the United States in 2001 from heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases, 53.6 percent were women and 46.3 percent were men. 

The good news is that heart disease can often be prevented.  Identifying risk factors for the disease and making lifestyle changes to lower these risk factors is an important practical solution for women.  Major risk factors are:

1) Smoking –  20.7 percent of American women age 18 and older smoke, putting them at increased risk for a heart attack or stroke.

2) High blood pressure – High blood pressure is a leading cause of stroke.  Until age 55, more men than women have high blood pressure; then the percentage increases in women.

3) High cholesterol – Beginning at age 45, a higher percentage of women than men have total blood cholesterol of 200 mg/dL or higher (levels between 200 and 239 mg/dL are considered borderline high, above 240 mg/dL high).  The risk of heart attack in both men and women is highest when their HDL (“good cholesterol”) is below 40mg/dL and total cholesterol is above 240 mg/dL. 

4) Physical inactivity - Physical inactivity is more prevalent among women than men, with 36.2 % of white females and 55.2 % of black females being physically inactive.

5) Overweight and Obesity -   Lifestyle changes can go a long way in lowering these risk factors. 

Being aware of personal risk and treatment options can empower a woman to live a long and healthy life.  The American Heart Association and 11 other leading national healthcare organizations came together to develop comprehensive guidelines for heart disease prevention in women.  On February 4, 2004, the American Heart Association announced these new guidelines in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.  According to the new recommendations, the aggressiveness of treatment should be linked to whether a woman has low, intermediate or high risk of having a heart attack in the next ten years, based on a standardized scoring method developed by the Framingham Heart Study.  The concept that a woman either has or does not have heart disease has been replaced with the idea that it develops over time and every woman falls somewhere in the risk range and should be treated accordingly. 

At the same time as the new recommendations were released by the American Heart Association, a new campaign was launched to raise awareness and to urge women to take control of their heart health.  The campaign, “Go Red For Women” seeks to improve women’s heart health by providing education and tools about heart disease to the general public.  They have adopted the bold color of red and have designed a red dress pin to draw attention to the disease.   Call 1-888-MY-HEART (694-3278) to receive a free American Heart Association red dress pin, a women and heart disease brochure, and a wallet card to track your cholesterol, blood pressure and weight.  Or visit www.americanheart.org for an abundance of educational information including warning signs of heart attack and stroke, questions to ask your doctor, healthy goals, and ways to take charge of your heart health.  Information is also available on two free lifestyle programs, “Choose to Move” and “Simple Solutions”. 

The information is out there - - the rest is up to you.  TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR AND TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR HEART HEALTH NOW! 

arial, 10 point font

date here 9/04

Back to Newsroom