Eulalee Thompson
The number one cause of death, disability and hospitalisation, cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity and cancer accounts for about 56 per cent of deaths annually in Jamaica. Cardiovascular disease has been labelled a 'man's disease' but in this year's Heart Month, February, quite a lot of information is coming out about women and heart disease, in an effort to close the information gap. Women too need to pay attention to their hearts.
Statistics on
disability and death
In the United States, it is reported that heart disease kills more women aged 65 older than all cancers combined and that women are more likely to die of heart disease than of breast cancer, the leading cancer in women.
Taking a picture
of the heart
A U.S. study, the Women's Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation (WISE), found that the standard heart test, the angiogram may not be the best screening method for women's hearts. Apparently, according to this study, the dangerous plaque build-up, linked to heart disease, appears also in the smaller blood vessels in women's hearts and the angiogram may not be able to pick this up. So, a clean bill of health after an angiogram may not be so reassuring for women after all.
The WISE study wanted to 'evaluate innovative diagnostic methods that will improve the diagnostic reliability of cardiovascular testing in evaluation of ischaemia heart disease in women'. The study also want to develop 'safe, accurate, and cost-effective diagnostic approaches for evaluating women with suspected ischaemia heart disease', among other important objectives. This is one study which women should keep following.
Women's heart attack symptoms
The pain, pressure, discomfort in the chest which is recognised as symptoms of heart disease in men, may not be the same for a woman having a heart attack, according to experts at MayoClinic. They say that the symptoms are more subtle in women and point to the significant ones that women should look out for:
Neck, shoulder, upper back or abdominal discomfort
Shortness of breath
Nausea or vomiting
Sweating
Light headedness or dizziness
Unusual fatigue.
Other interesting bits of information on women and heart disease - depression in women increases the risk and treatment for women may be different as a result of variance in the response of men and women to the same drugs.
Minding your heart
The healthy lifestyle study in Jamaica has highlighted some strategies to prevent not only heart disease, but other chronic diseases. They include:
An optimal diet, rich in fruits and vegetables and which does not lead to weight gain.
Engaging in daily physical activity of moderate intensity. Activity increases blood flow to the heart and strengthens it.
Consume only a limited amount of alcohol.
No smoking. Tobacco smoke can damage the heart. Second-hand smoke is also dangerous for heart health.
Send feedback to eulalee.thompson@gleanerjm.com.
