Heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases are the number one killer of women in Virginia, heart disease and stroke alone account for one third of all female deaths. On average 26 females in Virginia die every day from heart disease and stroke. Studies have shown that 80% of heart attacks in women are preventable through lifestyle changes and better preventative health care. These statistics are shocking and indicate a need for improvement in both awareness and treatment.
There are several steps you can take to help reduce your risk of Heart Disease. One of the leading factors of heart disease and many other illnesses is tobacco use. If you are a current tobacco user, speaking to your pharmacist or doctor about how they can help you quit is a great place to start. Another risk for heart disease is obesity, 66% of Americans over the age of 20 are overweight or obese. The best way for you to fight obesity is by exercising and eating right. Regardless of weight, physical activity can help control blood pressure, cholesterol, and lower your risk for diabetes. Diabetes is also a major risk factor for heart disease. Studies indicate that people with diabetes are more than twice as likely to have a heart attack than the average person. Therefore, properly managing your blood sugar levels and exercising can help reduce this risk. Eating a healthy diet is another way you can reduce your risk of heart disease. Eating foods high in saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol greatly increase your risk for heart disease. With that in mind it is also important to avoid drinking too much alcohol as this can lead to high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke.
When thinking about heart disease, you have to be able to recognize the symptoms. Most heart attacks occur slowly with mild pain or discomfort and as a result many people wait too long before they seek help. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that may last for a few minutes or may go away then come back. It may feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain. Also a heart attack may cause discomfort in other areas of the upper body including pain in one or both arms, the back, the neck, jaw or stomach. In addition it may cause shortness of breath, which can occur with or without chest pain. Other signs to look out for include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or feeling light headed. If you experience chest discomfort, especially if it involves one or more of the other symptoms, don’t wait longer than 5 minutes before calling 911 for help. In many cases women’s symptoms differ from men during a heart attack. Often women don’t experience chest pain at all and instead may experience shortness of breath, weakness, unusual fatigue, cold sweat, or dizziness.
Strokes are another important part of heart disease. The signs and symptoms that you should be looking for include sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body. Strokes can also include sudden confusion or trouble speaking or understanding, a sudden loss of vision in one or both eyes, sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination or a sudden severe headache with no known cause. If you experience any of these symptoms call 911 immediately. These symptoms may not be permanent, they may only last a few minutes. This is called a mini stroke and is a warning sign of a full stroke and you should seek help immediately even if the symptoms go away.
Heart disease poses a serious threat to both men and women. If you are interested in taking steps to help lower your risk for cardiovascular disease please ask your doctor or pharmacist at your next visit what steps they would recommend you take. Every 25 seconds an American has a cardiac event and about one every minute someone will die from it. Now is the time to talk to your pharmacist and/or doctor on how you can prevent yourself from becoming part of those statistics.
Neil Allen Van Pelt, PharmD Candidate 2012
