Healthy HEART
Managing risks key to preventing cardiovascular disease
I t’s not just a man’s disease anymore. In fact, according to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the No. 1 killer in women and accounts for one in every three female deaths in the U.S. More than 8 million women are living with heart disease.
Since the 1980s, the number of women who die from cardiovascular disease has exceeded that of males.
Katherine Durham, a cardiologist at White County Medical Center in Searcy, said women should give more attention to their heart health.
“We focus on breast cancer so much but more people die of cardiovascular disease hands down,” Durham said.
A main issue with women and heart disease is recognizing when a heart attack is happening. It isn’t just about chest pains, though Durham said chest pain is still the No. 1 symptom. The pain women experience, however, isn’t typical.
“It’s not necessarily elephant-sitting-on-the-chest pain, like a man will say,” Durham said. “Sometimes [women] will feel like a burning sensation.”
Durham said women often mistake that sensation for heartburn.
Conversely, women may not have any type of chest discomfort at all.
“They may just have shortness of breath, or they just have fatigue,” Durham said. “Those are red flags, and you can imagine how that makes it difficult.”
Shortness of breath and fatigue can also be attributed to factors such as normal weight gain, or an increased work schedule, or other life circumstances.
PREVENTION IS KEY
The key risk factors, largely the same in both men and women, include high blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol and smoking. Other risk factors are diabetes, being overweight or obese, a poor diet and physical inactivity.
HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
Getting screened regularly for heart health can be much easier for women than making regular appointments with a family doctor or cardiologist. Instead, screening can be done at their OB-GYN visits.
“When women are in their 30s, they are healthy, but they are going to their GYN appointment, so that’s a good time to look at blood pressure,” Durham said.
OBESITY
Obesity is a huge risk factor for postmenopausal women. “They tend to carry around an increased amount of abdominal fat just due to hormone changes,” Durham said.
TOBACCO ABUSE
Durham said the No. 1 cause of spontaneous heart attack in middle-aged women is smoking.
“Your 50-year-old comes in, and they don’t really have anything else going on, but they are a smoker,” Durham said. “That’s their biggest risk factor for heart disease.”
DIABETES
Durham said diabetic women are four to seven times more likely to get heart disease than men.
“If you have diabetes, you have a risk of heart disease,” Durham said. “If it is poorly controlled, [there is] a higher chance of heart disease. Controlling [the diabetes] is key.”
While the popular philosophy for preventing heart disease is “the earlier the better,” Durham said that by age 40, close attention should be paid to a woman’s important numbers and risk factors.
“By 40, you should know your blood pressure, your cholesterol number,” Durham said. “You should have stopped smoking by then, and start an exercise program if you haven’t, and you should be aware of your weight.”
As people age, their metabolism slows, making it more difficult to lose weight to minimize their risk.
Family history is also a factor in how early women should be aware of their critical numbers.
Durham’s most important piece of advice to women is simple: “Listen to your body.”
“If their doctor says, ‘You just have reflux, or it’s just stress,’ and if there is something inside of them that says ‘that’s not right,’ keep asking for help,” Durham said. “Don’t ignore symptoms.”