Women and Heart Disease
The Facts
As the No. 1 killer of American women, cardiovascular disease claims more women's lives than breast and lung cancer combined. Heart disease is also the leading cause of disability among women. In fact, two out of three women who have a heart attack never fully recover.A woman's risk of cardiovascular disease increases with age, especially after menopause. Left untreated, her condition will continue to progress - it doesn't just go away. Unfortunately, many women do not take their risk of heart disease seriously, and fail to make the connection between risk factors they read or hear about and their own chance of developing heart disease.
What is heart disease?
Cardiovascular disease includes coronary heart disease - a disorder of the blood vessels of the heart that can lead to heart attack - as well as stroke, high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, peripheral vascular disease and other vascular and coronary diseases.Cardiovascular disease is often a lifelong condition - once you get it, you'll always have it to some degree. This means the condition of your blood vessels will steadily worsen unless you make lifestyle changes. It's vital to take action now to prevent this disease and slow its progression.
Am I at risk?
Yes. The simple fact is this: All women are at risk. Even if you have only one risk factor your chance of developing cardiovascular disease is greatly increased. Having more than one risk factor is especially serious because risk factors tend to "gang up" and worsen each others' effects. Fortunately, many risk factors can be controlled by making changes in your lifestyle or by taking medication. Risk factors include:
- Smoking
- High blood pressure
- Abnormal cholesterol levels
- Age - 55 or older
- Family history of early coronary heart disease
- Diabetes
- Physical inactivity/lack of exercise
- History of being overweight/obese
- Excessive alcohol use
What can I do?
Early detection, accurate diagnosis and proper treatment of heart disease can prevent many heart attacks. An important first step is seeing your physician and asking what you can do to improve heart health. Regular screenings, exercising and a healthy diet will help you monitor your blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels. Women can lower their risk dramatically by leading a healthy life.Why choose the UVa heart team?
Our approach is comprehensive - team care with a focus on prevention, diagnosis, state-of-the-art treatment and rehabilitation. UVa's team of cardiologists, specialized cardiovascular nurse practitioners and nurses, nutritionists and exercise physiologists is designed to address the individual needs of women. UVa offers several levels of cardiovascular care appropriate to each woman's particular level of risk.UVa also offers the Live Red initiative, a heart health offering for women that helps women learn and manage their unique risks for heart disease. Visit. http://www.livereduva.com/ for more information.