How Women Can Avoid Cardiovascular Disease
by Susan Cross | Posted: February 16th, 2010 | No Comments »HONOR THY HEART! February usually makes me think of romance, and chocolates placed in heart shaped boxes. However, February is also Heart Disease Awareness Month! A much more important reason to be thinking about hearts, namely, YOURS.
I may think of this more than most. As I have shared with you before, my father died of heart disease, and he had his first heart attack at 48 years old, my current age. Also, my mother had a stroke three years ago. I have spent this year thinking about my heart in a deeper, more meaningful way than usual. I found myself thinking about how young I feel, and how could a heart malfunction in our 40’s? Well it can.
Did you know that cardiovascular disease is THE NUMBER ONE killer among women over the age of 55! Many of us think it is breast cancer, it is our hearts! One in four women will die of heart disease, yet only one in thirty will die of breast cancer. In the United States, a woman dies every minute from a cardiovascular related illness (which includes obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, hypertension), 25% will die within one year of having their first heart attack, and more than half of women who have heart attacks and live, fail to make a full recovery.
At VIB, we know how busy you are. We are here to share what we have learned, in an easy and concise manner (we hope!), so that you can incorporate positive changes into your lifestyle. We are not trying to scare you in any way. In fact, if you are 40 years old or older, it is important that you begin taking steps now, towards lowering your risk. The number one prevention is lifestyle: proper nutrition, weight loss, exercise and stress reduction. We are here to show you how!
Please know that you are in control, by incorporating a healthy lifestyle you can live a long life. Your biology does not have to become your biography. Our lifestyle can change our genes and our cells. Really! So even if heart disease runs in your family, like it does in mine, you have the power to change the outcome of your life. How exciting is that!
-Nutrition: whole grains, vegetables, fruits, fish and nuts, lots of water.
-Avoid: caffeine, alcohol, processed foods, saturated fats, animal fats, soidum, high fructose corn syrup*, and all the white stuff.
-Medical: get an annual check-up, cardio-stress test, and have your hormones checked. If you are a menopausal woman – especially. Estrogen seems to play a role in the health of your heart.
-Supplements: CoQ10, omega 3′s, magnesium, vitamin D, multi vitamin, resveratrol powder.
-Exercise: walk as much as you can, bike, run, jog, dance. Get moving and focus on cardio for thirty minutes a day, minimum, 3-4 days a week. To live a long life, exercise is non-negotiable! Do it!
-Lifestyle: avoid stress, take ten deep breaths a day, listen to relaxing music, limit tv and never watch news at night. Do something uplifting – yoga, a warm bath, a good book, a chat with positive people, a gratefulness journal, pets are a huge stress reducer, as is forgiveness and hugs!
-Passion: have a career and/or hobby you LOVE. Always keep learning. Surround yourself with positive, loving people, either family, friends or community service. Giving back is good for the heart and the soul.
*High fructose corn syrup (HFCS): It damages cells, that we know. However, results are in, on a study conducted for decades, on almost 100,000 women. The study concludes that even one 12 oz. soda a day (soda is mostly HFCS) boosts a woman’s risk of having a heart attack by 25%, two soda’s raise her risks to 35%, and so on! HFCS increases uric acid and triglycerides in the blood, which are known contributors to hypertension and heart disease. How ironic that COKE has a red heart on its can for ‘heart awareness month’. Perhaps, it will serve as a warning: when you see that heart, remind yourself to do something good for your heart today, and NOT DRINK SODA!
Tune in this week for a piece on the warning signs for heart attack and stroke in women.
This is a topic very near to my heart. I have people in my life who just love food - for the taste, for the way it makes them feel - and who don't give a second thought to what negative impact this food might have on their lives. I know people often hear Susan's advice above and greet it with resistance. But hopefully most others will listen and take it to heart (literally) at least a little bit at a time. It is our wish that the people we touch in our lives live as happy and healthy and long lives as possible! Especially those super dear to us. It's not that we are preaching or that we want them to have less enjoyment in their lives. It is that we care. A lot.
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