Be heart-healthy

FEBRUARY is Heart Month, and heart disease has been listed as a major contributor to death in the population. Apart from existing non-communicable diseases such hypertension and diabetes, there are several other things that easily put women at risk for heart disease. These include menopause, physical inactivity, obesity, a family history of cardiovascular disease, as well as cigarette smoking.

Here are some factoids, especially for women, as we recognise Heart Month.

• The distribution of your weight is one of the ways to determine whether you are at risk for heart disease. Your risk increases if you are a woman with a waist above 35 inches. It is also important to note that you are still at risk even if you are a young woman, although most women usually suffer from heart disease after menopause.

• To reduce your risk factors, exercise is key, and for people who smoke, they also need to stop smoking. You also need to make sure that you keep your blood pressure under control.

• It is important that women analyse their risks and get regular check-ups. This is even more essential if you are experiencing any one of the symptoms associated with heart disease — nausea, fatigue, an unusually rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, cold sweat and pain in the chest, left arm or back.

• Two-thirds of women who die suddenly of heart disease have no previous symptoms — making prevention even more difficult. Unfortunately, only 54 per cent of women recognise that heart disease poses their greatest risk of death.

• While men tend to present with “classic” heart attack symptoms such as chest pain and shortness of breath, women often have very atypical symptoms including nausea, back pain, flu-like illness, and feelings of dread. Many times women who are having heart attack symptoms do not even realise that they are having a heart attack.

• One of the most important things that women can do is to take stock of their own cardiovascular health. If a woman has multiple risk factors, then screening tests are appropriate. It is vital that women engage with their health-care providers and determine exactly what their risk is — once risk is known, steps can be taken to reduce it and screening tests can be performed.

• Have your blood pressure checked annually. Hypertension is known as the silent killer. While you may not have symptoms from high blood pressure, long-standing hypertension can damage your heart and blood vessels and put you at higher risk for heart attack and stroke.

•Have your cholesterol checked annually. Most heart attacks are caused by a build-up of fatty plaques inside the heart arteries. When these plaques rupture and occlude a coronary artery, a heart attack occurs. Cholesterol contributes to the development of these plaques. By checking your cholesterol annually, you can assess your risk and your physician can put you on drugs to lower your cholesterol if necessary.

• Maintain an optimal body weight. Assess your body mass index and make changes to diet and exercise regimen in order to attain a healthier weight. Make healthy food choices. Obesity leads to generalised inflammation and inflammation has been directly associated with the development of heart disease.

• Lower your stress levels. Studies have shown that stress can increase the incidence of heart attack in susceptible individuals. Emotional stress evokes a hormonal response in our bodies. When under stress, we release increased amounts of stress hormones, including epinephrine and cortisol. These hormones raise blood pressure and heart rate.