|
Feature Articles: Health
Women: Take Action Against Heart DiseaseTammy Roberts, MS, RD, LD,
Nutrition and
Health Education Specialist in |
|
Heart disease is generally thought of as a man’s disease but one in eight women aged 45-64 and one in four women over the age of 65 has coronary artery disease.
Coronary heart disease is a disorder of the blood vessels of the heart that can lead to a heart attack. A heart attack happens when an artery becomes blocked. Each year about 88,000 women, ages 45-64 have a heart attack and about half of the women who have a heart attack before age 65 die within eight years.
Women of all ages need to be aware of the risk for heart disease but it is in midlife that a woman’s risk for heart disease increases. At menopause, when a woman stops producing estrogen, heart disease risk increases significantly. Unfortunately, you can’t control your age so that is a risk factor that is beyond your control. Another risk factor beyond your control is having a family history of early heart disease.
There are other risk factors that increase a woman’s chance of developing heart disease. That list includes: smoking, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, overweight, diabetes and physical inactivity. These are all things you can impact by making healthy lifestyle changes. It is important to note here that Americans can lower their risk of heart disease by as much as 82% just by leading a healthy lifestyle.
If you have coronary artery disease, or if you are at risk, you can take steps to keep your blood vessels healthy.
After one year of not smoking, your risk for heart disease decreases by more than one-half.
Work to keep your blood pressure in normal range of 120/80.
Have your blood cholesterol checked. Total cholesterol should be below 200, LDL cholesterol optimal levels is less than 100 and HDL above 60 is a good goal.
Choose foods low in saturated fat and moderate in total fat, get plenty of whole grains fruits and vegetables and choose lean meats and low-fat dairy products to maintain a healthy weight and provide adequate nutrients.
Get plenty of exercise. This can help with weight maintenance as well as high blood pressure and diabetes.
No one is immune to coronary artery disease. Heart disease develops over time and can start at a young age. No matter what your age, practice healthy habits now so you can be healthy and productive later.
Last update: Thursday, April 05, 2007
 |
Site Administrator: |
|
|
|
