A Woman's Heart, What Do You Mean I'm at Risk for Heart Disease? (Part 1)

By Mary Kyle Blogger

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The bad news about cardiovascular (heart) disease is that one out of every two women in the U.S. die of cardiovascular related disease each year. As I sit here looking at my daughter, the statistics say that one of us will die from heart related disease.

That is NOT acceptable to me! The good news is that there is something we can do about it! Cardiovascular disease can be prevented by making lifestyle changes.

Ok…. Great…. So, if it’s a preventable disease, what do we do to stop it? How do we take ourselves out of the statistics and beat the rather unfavorable odds? As with anything, we empower ourselves and take charge of our own health. The first step is learning what the risk factors are for developing cardiovascular disease. Once we know the risk factors, we can evaluate where we are on the risk spectrum and determine just what actions, if any, we need to take to protect our personal health.

As with almost anything else in life, the risk factors fall into two distinct categories: risk factors we can’t control and risk factors we can control. The factors that we can’t control are fairly straight-forward:

 Age – Ladies, it is what it is. If you are a woman over the age of 55, you have a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
 Family History - Do you have a family history of heart disease? Did a father or brother (or other male relative) develop cardiovascular disease before age 55? Did your mother or sister (or other female relative) development heard disease before age 65? If so, give yourself a check.
 Race/Ethnicity – Are you African American, Hispanic or of Native American descent? If so, then unfortunately, you are at a greater risk for developing cardiovascular disease. Give yourself another check if you fall into this category.
 Post-menopausal – Are you post-menopausal? Congratulations! You have another risk factor. (The research now indicates that post menopausal women who are receiving both Estrogen PLUS Progestin therapies are at an increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease. Taking Estrogen therapy alone does not have any impact on the risk of developing heart disease.)

I’ve scored two out of four so far. How are you doing? My score isn’t good and we are only on the risk factors we can’t control! Even the presence of one risk factor increases your risk of cardiovascular disease so my personal risk has already increased. I’m not caring for the odds so far. Next time, I’ll look at the risk factors we can control. Perhaps, I’ll fare better with those risk factors.

Until then, here’s wishing you a healthy heart. Mary

Sources
The Heart Truth for Women, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov//educational/hearttruth/downloads/pdf/factsheet-actionplan.pdf

National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease: Know Your Risk Factors, http://www.womenheart.org/supportForWomen/prevention/riskfactors.cfm, Source: The Heart Truth Campaign. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The National Institutes of Health.

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We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.