圀攀 匀琀椀氀氀 䐀漀 ⸀ ⸀ ⸀
Even though heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women in the United
States, women often chalk up the symptoms to less life-threatening conditions like acid reflux, the flu, or normal aging. “I thought I
had the flu.” They do this for various reasons, but mostly because they put their
families first or fail to identify the gravity of their symptoms. Many women still
are shocked when they learn that they might be having a heart attack. To them,
the image of an elephant sitting on the chest is what crosses their mind, but
symptoms could be more subtle. You could feel short winded, as if you just
finished running a marathon or climbed two flights of stairs fast, when you have
not made a move or barely moved.
In a study of over one million men and women in the National Registry of Myocardial Infarction (United States), the proportion of heart attack patients who
presented without chest pain was significantly higher for women than men (42%
versus 30.7%). Many women self medicate, take an aspirin or a reflux medication
and never call 911. If you take an aspirin because you think you are having a heart
attack, you should be calling 911!
Heart disease is preventable. Here are some top tips on how to prevent it:
• Schedule an appointment with your care provider to learn more about your
personal risk for heart disease. Make sure you check your blood pressure,
cholesterol, and blood sugars. Discuss whether you have any conditions that put
you at higher than average risk for heart attack or blood clots when taking oral
contraceptives.
• Start an exercise program. Just walking 30 minutes a day can lower your risk of
heart attack and stroke.
• Quit smoking. Immediately after you quit smoking, you could lower your risk of
heart attack by 50%. A European study on 13,372 subjects clearly showed that
stopping smoking lowers the risk of heart attacks and death to the level of never
smokers within a period of 2-3 years.
• Modify your diet and your family’s diet. The Internet is full of websites that
promote heart healthy diets. All you have to do is type “heart healthy diet” or
“Mediterranean diet” and you will have plenty of choices to pick from. Finding
this information is not the hard task at hand, sticking to it is, however. A diet is the
price we pay for exceeding the feed limit.
• Lose weight. This one goes without saying. The older you get, the harder it gets
to lose weight because our metabolism slows down. You can help increase your
metabolism by going out more, going to the gym more, nibbling on chocolate
if you crave it instead of swallowing an entire bar (same goes for other sweets),
skipping the diet soda and switching to tea, sleeping well and winding down your
stress levels.
䌀䄀一䌀䔀刀 䤀匀 匀伀 䰀䤀䴀䤀吀䔀䐀⸀⸀⸀ꀀ
䰀漀瘀攀⸀ꀀ
䤀琀 挀愀渀渀漀琀 猀栀愀琀琀攀爀 䠀漀瀀攀⸀
䤀琀 挀愀渀渀漀琀 挀漀爀爀漀搀攀 䘀愀椀琀栀⸀ꀀ
䤀琀 挀愀渀渀漀琀 攀愀琀 愀眀愀礀 倀攀愀挀攀⸀
䤀琀 挀愀渀渀漀琀 搀攀猀琀爀漀礀 䌀漀渀昀椀搀攀渀挀攀⸀
䤀琀 挀愀渀渀漀琀 欀椀氀氀 䘀爀椀攀渀搀猀栀椀瀀⸀
䤀琀 挀愀渀渀漀琀 猀栀甀琀 漀甀琀 䴀攀洀漀爀椀攀猀⸀ꀀ
䤀琀 挀愀渀渀漀琀 猀椀氀攀渀挀攀 䌀漀甀爀愀最攀⸀ꀀ
䤀琀 挀愀渀渀漀琀 爀攀搀甀挀攀 䔀琀攀爀渀愀氀 䰀椀昀攀⸀ꀀ
䤀琀 挀愀渀渀漀琀 焀甀攀渀挀栀 琀栀攀 匀瀀椀爀椀琀⸀
䤀琀 挀愀渀渀漀琀 挀爀椀瀀瀀氀攀
You are our mothers, our sisters, our wives and our daughters. You always put
everyone else ahead of you and make so many sacrifices to ensure the wellbeing
of your families. It is time for you to also take care of yourself.
倀䠀伀吀伀䜀刀䄀倀䠀夀
Jad Skaf, M.D., is board certified in cardiovascular disease, clinical electrophysiology,
echocardiography and nuclear cardiology. He is associated with Carolinas Medical Alliance
– Cardiology, and is a member of the medical staff at Carolinas Hospital System.
SHEMAGAZINE.COM FEBRUARY 2016
121