Ladies should heed signs of heart disease

By Carol Higgins Taylor

    Valentine’s Day is over. It’s time to toss the empty heart-shaped boxes and hang the roses upside down to dry to preserve their beauty.
    While the memory of this romantic holiday will live on, through a sparkling diamond pendent if you’re lucky, the shape your own heart is in should be front and center in your memory bank as well.

    Heart, disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death in American women, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives each year.
    In the United States, one in four women die from heart disease.
    According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health, coronary heart disease is a disease in which a waxy substance called plaque builds up inside the coronary arteries. These arteries supply oxygen-rich blood to your heart muscle.
    Listen up ladies, this is serious business. This sobering information might even get me exercising on a regular basis, which is only one of the recommendations to reduce the risk of heart disease. (Nothing I’ve read so far bans chocolate, so risk reduction seems doable.)
    So, let’s get to the heart of the matter. What are some of the risk factors?
    Smoking: The reasons that smoking is dangerous are too numerous to mention but just stop now. By quitting you will cut your risk for heart disease in half.
    High Blood Pressure: The plaque buildup on the artery walls may be increased by the stress of high blood pressure.
    High Cholesterol: Buildup in the artery walls, making the heart work harder.
    It is also important to be physically active, watch your weight, and reduce stress levels. Being under stress can raise adrenaline levels in your body, which raises your heart rate and blood pressure. This can cause your arteries to tighten and narrow.
    We all know the devastation a heart attack can bring to both sexes, but symptoms can differ between the two groups.
    It is important to note that a woman’s symptoms of a heart attack, as opposed to a man’s, are often vague and they can be present for years but may accelerate as long as a month prior to the heart attack itself.
    And some women may have heart disease without even realizing it. The risk increases with age, especially in post-menopausal women who no longer produce estrogen.
    So, women having a heart attack may experience symptoms such as:
    Mild chest pain
    Unusual fatigue
    Pressure or pain in the upper back, shoulders, neck, jaw or arms
    Shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing
    Light-headedness, weakness and dizziness
    Breaking out in a cold sweat
    Nausea, or stomach or abdominal pain
    Unexplained feelings of anxiety or dread
    Discomfort, fullness, tightness, and squeezing or pressure in the center of the chest that lasts for more than a few minutes or is regularly repeated
    Increase in fluid retention
    Unexplained coughing
    If you are having any of the above symptoms, seek medical attention immediately. While it may turn out to be nothing, time is of the essence if there is a problem. Be sure to have a thorough cardiac evaluation including an electrocardiogram (EKG) or an echocardiogram, and a blood test to check your cardiac enzymes.
    The bottom line is to not ignore symptoms, to listen to your body and talk to your doctor or other healthcare provider. Your life depends on it.
    For more information, visit www.nhlbi.nih.gov.
    Carol Higgins Taylor is an advocate for seniors and owns a public relations firm in Bangor.     Email:4chtaylor@gmail.com.

In the United States, one in four women die from heart disease.