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Self Care can be the Key to Heart Health

By Expert HERWriter
 
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In general we, as women, need to take better care of ourselves! We have the tendency to multitask ourselves into mental and physical exhaustion. We take care of our children, our husbands or boyfriends, our extended family, and our communities by helping them be successful in their projects.

By the time we have given energy to all these different people we seldom have time to focus on our most important asset -- ourselves. We have to focus on our health.

February is Heart Month, and it's a great time for us to take time to think about our emotional as well as our physical health. When we neglect our emotional and physical health we have aches, pains, fatigue and persistent health problems. Ignoring those signs can be dangerous and damaging to our health.

Indicators show up in our life to tell us that we are moving out of balance with our health. Signs serve as an alarm to let us know we need to make changes to the way we are living our lives. We can experience a combination of emotional and physical issues.

Addressing the symptoms when they first come to the surface allows us to set a new baseline for our health. They allow us to catch a potentially dangerous health condition when it is happening.

For women, heart attacks show up differently than with men and can be a combination of both. In women our symptoms can seem much more subtle.

Instead of chest pain, women may have unexplained shortness of breath, or pain or pressure in other areas than the chest, including the jaw, neck, arms, back or stomach. There are other ambiguous symptoms like weakness, feeling sick to the stomach, extreme fatigue, nausea, dizziness, or lower chest discomfort.

If you have any of those symptoms mentioned above, make an appointment to see your doctor and get a heart health check. The better you take care yourself and your health, the more energy you will have to help to take care of the ones you love.

Dr. Dae
http://twitter.com/drdae
https://www.healthydaes.com
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Dr. Dae is a Naturopathic Physician who practices in the Washington DC metro area treats the whole person using safe and effective combinations of traditional and natural methods to produce optimal health and well-being in the lives of her patients.

Sources:

Pittman, Genevra. "Heart attack with no chest pain more likely in women." Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 21 Feb. 2012. Web. 5 Feb. 2014.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/21/us-heart-attack-no-chest-pain-women-idUSTRE81K1VW20120221

"What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Heart Disease?." - NHLBI, NIH. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Feb. 2014.
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hdw/signs.html

Reviewed February 6, 2014
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith

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Dr. Daemon Jones
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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.

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