Posted Feb 4, 2012
February is Heart Awareness Month, and Friday marks National Wear Red Day to raise awareness about heart disease, such as how to recognize it, treat it and prevent it.
Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, according to the American Heart Association.
Jean Julius, a registered nurse with the Owensboro Medical Health System HealthPark, said a person can improve heart health by not smoking, avoiding secondhand smoke, staying active by walking every day and eating a healthy, balanced diet with less salt.
“You should also check your blood pressure often,” Julius said. “If you’re on blood pressure medicine, then a physician checks you regularly. Other than that, get it checked once a year, but as we age, the blood pressure goes higher.”
Recommended blood pressure is 120 over 80.
According to the AHA, more women now die from coronary disease in the United States each year than do men. One theory is that the disease has progressed further without a woman being aware of it. Women, historically, don’t visit cardiologists as much as men.
“Men have that heavy feeling in their chest, like an elephant is sitting on it,” Julius said. “That’s not always true with women. They feel tired, fatigued and a shortness of breath.
“Women may feel nauseated or an ache in the chest. They think that’s indigestion, which men do also. And just like in men, the pain radiates to the jaw, neck and shoulders. That’s a sign that you should respond right away.”
At that point, a person should call 911 and not go to a clinic.
“As soon as EMT’s arrive, they’ll be in communication with the emergency room,” Julius said. “When you get there, there will be no waiting in the waiting room, you’ll be seen immediately.”
Julius said it’s better to be on the safe side and go to the ER and find out you didn’t have a heart attack than not going when you did have one. Blockages prevent oxygen in the blood from getting where it needs to go.
“The lack of circulation of blood to the heart muscle is what’s causing the pain,” she said.
Women also tend to have higher cholesterol than men. Additionally, high triglycerides tend to more negatively affect women in terms of causing blockages and heart attacks.
Fat in the artery is called plaque, and plaque adheres to an artery wall, building up and slowly eroding into the artery. Women are more prone to erosion, meaning the plaque erodes into the bloodstream, creating the likelihood that it will lodge somewhere to cause a blood clot, and block the blood flow, causing a heart attack.
Rich Suwanski, 691-7315
©2012 the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.)
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