Be Graceful to Your Heart

When I think of February being the shortest month of the year and the only month with fewer than 30 days, many fun events/activities come to mind: Black History Month, Super Bowl (yay Ravens), Valentine’s Day, Ground Hog Day, and President’s Day. However, Heart Healthy Month has been relatively new on the calendar in recent years. According to the annual national health awareness calendar, specifically for women, “Go Red for Women” is sponsored by the American Heart Association to raise awareness of heart disease in women.  In the past, when one heard statistics about heart disease, the attention always seemed geared toward men. But anyone can be at risk. Are you being grateful to your heart?

Since the “Go Red for Women” Campaign started ten years ago, significant strides have been made in women’s heart disease.  The death rate for women and heart disease has dropped in the last ten years, women’s guidelines created by the American Heart Association have educated millions of healthcare professionals to recognize and treat heart disease in women, and the number of women aware of their No.1 killer has jumped from 22% to well over 50%.

As I mentioned on this blog’s “about” page, I’ve been in pharmaceutical sales for 15 years.  My years in the pharmaceutical industry have afforded me great awareness and information on healthcare and staying healthy.  I have been fortunate to sell many aspects that benefit our health, including cardiovascular.  Years ago, I promoted pharmaceuticals that focused on improving quality of life with “heart drugs.”  Diseases of the heart include some of the following: stroke, heart attack, and coronary artery disease.

I want to share a few critical points that as women are gracefully aging, one needs to keep the following points in mind about heart health:

Factors that Increase Your Risk for Heart Disease:

1. Cholesterol:
   Check with your medical professional to learn about healthy cholesterol levels.
2. High Blood Pressure: High correlation to heart disease
3.  Smoking:
   In addition to lung cancer, smoking can put our body at risk for heart disease.
4. Diabetes:
   Adults with Diabetes are two times more likely to have heart disease or a stroke than adults without the condition.
5. Weight:
   Excess weight and obesity are risk factors that contribute to heart disease.
6. Physician Inactivity:
   A lack of physical inactivity comes with significant risks.

Other Considerations:

1. Stress Management:
   Unmanaged stress, especially stress-related anger and hostility, can affect your health.  It
   According to the Cleveland Clinic, it may cause high blood pressure, irregular heart rhythms, damage to the arteries, higher cholesterol levels, and coronary artery disease.
2. Physical Inactivity:
   Regular physical activity or cardiorespiratory fitness decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease mortality in general and coronary heart disease mortality in particular.
3. Gum Disease: Research suggests that there’s a link between flossing and heart disease, meaning that
   our daily flossing ritual may do much more than protect your pearly whites.
4. Hearth Healthy Diet:
   Replace processed, fried foods, fast foods, junk foods for heart-healthy, fiber-filled
   options and lots of fresh fruit and leafy green vegetables.
5. Alcohol Consumption:
   Long-term use of alcohol in excessive quantities is capable of damaging nearly every organ in the body, including the heart.
6. Eat Fish
   Doctors have long recognized that the saturated fats in fish, called omega-3 fatty acids, appear to reduce the risk of dying of heart disease.
7.   Belly Fat
   Those who store fat in their bellies are at a higher risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes
   and specifically Diabetes, according to AARP.

Heart attack warning Signs: (seek medical attention immediately if you experience

Chest Discomfort
Discomfort in other areas of the upper body
Shortness of breath
other signs may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea, or lightheadedness

Other signs:

STROKE Warning Signs –Spot a stroke F.A.S.T.

F-Face Drooping

A-Arm Weakness

S-Speech Difficulty

There is a famous saying that “knowledge is power.” Over the years, health awareness campaigns have helped educate people about disease states and, in February, helped women be better educated about their bodies, more specifically, maintaining a healthy heart. How are you keeping a healthy heart as you age gracefully? What changes have you made, if any?