Know your risk factors: High blood pressure, smoking, high cholesterol, obesity, and lack of regular activity are all things that we can control.
Know your numbers! One of the best things you can do to protect your heart is to know your blood pressure, cholesterol, BMI, and blood sugar.
Take action now! Healthy changes in your life can make a world of difference for your heart.
If you are experiencing symptoms of heart attack, don’t hesitate to get help! The stakes are too high.
Almost two-thirds (64%) of women who die suddenly of coronary heart disease have no previous symptoms. Even if you have no symptoms, you may still be at risk for heart disease.
Women are more likely to describe chest pain as being sharp and burning in nature and more frequently have pain in the neck, jaw, throat, abdomen, or back.
Heart disease is a killer that strikes more women than men and is more deadly than all forms of cancer combined. While one in 31 American women dies from breast cancer each year, heart disease claims the lives of one in three. That’s roughly one death each minute.
The American Heart Association recommends you start getting your cholesterol checked at age 20, or earlier if your family has a history of heart disease. And while you’re at it, be sure to keep an eye on your blood pressure at your next check-up.
For younger women, the combination of birth control pills and smoking boosts heart disease risks by 20 percent.
Smoking, diabetes and abnormal blood lipids erase a woman’s estrogen protection.
Women wait longer than men to go to an emergency room when having a heart attack and physicians are slower to recognize the presence of heart attacks in women because “characteristic” patterns of chest pain and EKG changes are less frequently present.
Dr. Schwartz is a local doctor specializing in obstretrics and gynocology.