If you’re a youngin like me, you probably don’t think too much about your heart’s health. And you’re not alone- I honestly don’t think about it much either. But February is Heart Health Month, and the ever fabulous Yahoo Shine gives us six reasons to pay attention to our heart health as young women.
- Cardiovascular disease (or, CVD) is the number one killer among women. In 2005, CVD was the cause of death for 454,613 American women (cancer claimed the lives of 268,890). Also, American women are four to six times more likely to die of heart disease than of breast cancer.
- CVD can affect women of every age. Heart disease progresses over time, and it can even start while you’re a teen. Some things that increase your chances of developing heart disease early include lack of physical activity, smoking and poor nutrition. Therefore, you should make good lifestyle decisions as early as possible.
- The death rate due to CVD is higher in women than men. More women than men die of stroke, and 42 percent of women who have heart attacks die within one year, compared to 24 percent of men. Also, if those women are under 50-years-old, they are twice as likely to die as a result of a heart attack than men.
- Survival doesn’t mean it’s over. Heart disease can manifest itself through a stroke, and while many people can (and do) live through one, they might end up with permanent health issues. Additionally, stroke is a top cause of serious, long-term disability (15-30 percent of victims end up permanently disabled), and two-thirds of women who have a heart attack don’t make a full recovery.
- Diagnosis isn’t easy. I’m sure you’ve heard that men and women show different warning signs of a potential heart attack- and it’s true. Silent heart attacks, those with little or no symptoms, are more frequent among women than men. Seventy-one percent of women have flu-like symptoms, often without chest pains. Other unusual symptoms: neck, shoulder and abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fatigue and shortness of breath.
- Ethnicity and heart health. Black and Hispanic/Latina women need to be concerned about getting heart disease because we tend to have more risk factors than white women. These factors include lack of physical activity, obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. Additionally, the death rate because of CVD is significantly higher in black women than in white women.
The great news is you can lower your heart disease risk by as much as 82 percent just by leading a healthy lifestyle. So, start taking steps to improve your heart’s health!
Source: 6 Reasons young women should care about heart health; Photo from: thebridge-cc.org
For more info on heart health, check out:
www.americanheartassociation.com
This is great information. I think many “young” women believe that heart disease is reserved for “older” people but there is no age restriction. We need to start taking care of ourselves now so that we can make it to an older age.
Yeah, we definitely need to take care of ourselves now.