Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Living Well

Heart disease is the number one killer of American women. Over half a million women die annually from cardiovascular diseases.

Although women generally develop heart disease later than men, heart disease is more lethal to women. Women are twice as likely to die after a first heart attack and more likely to suffer a second heart attack or to be left disabled.

Also, women are less likely than men to be correctly diagnosed or properly treated. A study reported in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that exercise stress tests were used nearly twice as often with men as with women. Another study reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed that women were significantly less likely to receive state-of-the art treatment, such as angioplasty, bypass surgery or thrombolytic (clot-busting) drugs, after a heart attack.

Although it's not fully understood what precipitates the atherosclerotic process, a host of factors are known to contribute to it. Risk factors act cumulatively  the more you have, the greater your probability of developing heart disease.

Major heart disease risk factors include family history, race, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, menopause, diabetes, smoking, obesity and physical inactivity. Emerging risk factors include homocysteine, stress, infection and depression.

The Nurse's Health Study showed that taking estrogen after menopause can reduce a woman's risk of heart disease by 44 percent. Also, it showed that lifestyle changes can have an equally powerful protective effect against heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, at least 50 percent of heart attacks are preventable by adopting healthy habits to control risk factors.

Here's how to change the odds in your favor.

Quit smoking  If you smoke, quitting is the healthiest thing you can do for your heart. Once you quit, your risk of suffering a heart attack immediately diminishes.

Lose weight  If you're significantly overweight, you don't need to lose all those pounds to make a difference. Research shows that losing five to 10 percent of your body weight significantly reduces heart disease risk.

Exercise  Studies show that regular exercise can cut your risk of heart disease by at least 40 percent. When you exercise, you burn calories, which helps control weight. This helps prevent high blood pressure.

Exercise also helps your body metabolize glucose more efficiently, reducing your risk of diabetes. Also, exercise increases protective HDL (high density lipoprotein) levels. If you've been leading an inactive lifestyle, start with 10 minutes of walking or moderate activity a few days a week and work up to 30 minutes of moderate activity four or more days a week.

If you're over age 55 or you have heart disease, consult your doctor before beginning an exercise program.

Reduce stress  When combined with a good diet and exercise, stress reduction has been proven to slow the progression of heart disease. The key to stress management is feeling you have control over your life.

Devote 20 to 30 minutes daily to uninterrupted stress management techniques.

Focus on heart-healthy eating  Increase your consumption of fruits and vegetables, whole grain foods and calcium-rich foods. Decrease your intake of fat and/or saturated fat.

Control your blood pressure  Have your blood pressure checked regularly. Women over age 40 should have their blood pressure checked at least once every other year. If you have hypertension, you should be under medical care.

Blood pressure can be controlled through diet, exercise, weight loss and medication. Normal blood pressure classification is <130/85.

Control your cholesterol  The National Cholesterol Education Program recommends you have a blood cholesterol test once every five years if results are within normal limits (desirable is <200 mg/dL). If the result is borderline (200 to 239 mg/dL), a follow-up test within a year or two is recommended. After age 60, all women should have their cholesterol tested annually.

Experts believe that HDL levels are better indicators of heart disease risk for women. A woman's total cholesterol number may be misleading. A better cholesterol number to go by is the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol.

Divide your total cholesterol level by your HDL level. The goal is 4.0 or lower.