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How Is A Woman’s Heart Different And Why She Should Care

March 24, 2009 - 10:19pm 440 reads 0 comments

A woman’s heart weighs between 250 and 300 grams and is roughly the size of her clenched fist. Though the workings of the cardiovascular and cardio-respiratory system are identical to that of men, there are mild structural differences between them. A woman’s heart is smaller in size, and arteries from the heart are marginally narrower and more curved.

This difference of size, weight and structure gives her an inherent disadvantage in terms of the volume of blood pumped per beat, resting rate, absolute power generated by muscles to do a strenuous task. Combine this with narrower blood vessels and the chances of lower tolerance to plaque and cholesterol build-up is steep.

Apart from these inherent drawbacks, factors such as weight, smoking, heredity, aging, high blood cholesterol, physical inactivity, high blood pressure, diabetes, alcohol intake and response to stress form the leading causes of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in women. It will come as a pleasant surprise that 7 out of these 10 factors are in your control. Here are 5 essentials that should be a part of your daily life:

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