Women and Their Hearts

By Bonnie Owens, NP

UNPREDICTABLE... UNIQUE... MYSTERIOUS... INCOMPREHENSIBLE

Four words to describe today's women.

We are an enigma to all the men who try to understand us both physically and emotionally. When it comes to our health, we are equally a mystery to physicians as they try to predict who amongst the female gender has heart disease and who doesn't.

A recent study shows that 90% of primary care physicians still do not realize that heart disease kills more women than men every year. Women's symptoms are simply not the same as those which men experience when having a heart attack. Approximately 500,000 women per year die from heart related problems. More women die of heart attacks than all the cancers combined and that includes breast cancer! We can change that statistic.

What can women do? First and foremost, as elementary as it seems, know your body and be aware of differences in how you normally feel. While vacuuming or making the beds, applying make-up or carpooling the kids, are you more tired with less exertion? Next, evaluate the stress and anxiety in your life as these factors cause your heart rate and blood pressure to elevate. The blood supply to your heart is subsequently taxed so you may feel some discomfort. It may be in your chest, your jaw, your neck or even your thumb; some type of discomfort that occurs with stress that is not there when you are at peace. Do you really think that it can't be your heart because you are upset? Wrong! Any activity emotional or physical that increases your heart rate and causes discomfort is suspicious.

It is common knowledge that the more risk factors you have, the higher your risk of developing heart disease. If you have one or more of the following risk factors you are at intermediate risk of a heart attack: (for more information please download our Patient Cardiovascular Risk Assessment)

• Abnormal cholesterol including:
  • high LDL (bad cholesterol) above 130
  • low HDL (good cholesterol ) below 60 in women
  • high triglycerides over 150
• History of tobacco use
• High blood pressure
• Overweight
• Sedentary lifestyles
• Family history for premature heart disease
• (Women younger than age 65)
• Diabetes

First on the list of things you can do is to stop smoking...nothing good can come of smoking. Not only will you feel better, but there is an added incentive that all those little wrinkles around your mouth and lips won't get worse. You will look younger! Have your blood work done, know your numbers for cholesterol and triglycerides, and work on lowering them. Eat healthy, frequent small meals throughout the day. Walk 30 minutes every day. You deserve a half hour to yourself no matter how busy you are. Do it for yourself and your family. You will live longer and they need you to be there for them!

There are wonderful new testing procedures available to determine if you have heart disease and if so, to what degree it has progressed. Two of the most important are Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC) scores and Coronary CT Angiography (CTA). The American Heart Association recommends that everyone over the age of 40 with risk factors for Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) get a CAC score. This simple test takes approximately 10 seconds and will show how much calcified (hard) plaque is inside your coronary arteries. The higher your CAC score, the greater your risk for a heart attack. CTA, an even more sophisticated diagnostic test, quantifies the amount of hard and soft plaque in the coronary arteries. This test visualizes the walls and interior of the arteries.

Of the almost half a million women who die every year from CVD, approximately 250,000 die suddenly from a heart attack. Fortunately, you do not have to be one of those statistics. Making lifestyle modifications is easier than you think. Most importantly, talk with your health care provider and find out if there is anything else you can do. We can make a difference in your life with your help.

Bonnie Owens, NP
HeartFirst