Since February is American Heart Month, today’s blog is going to be about how to decrease women’s risk for heart attacks and heart disease. “Heart disease is the number 1 cause of death among women 20 and older, killing about one woman every minute,” (American Heart Association, Inc., 2011, http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/). In addition, heart disease kills more women than any form of cancer.
The heart is a very important muscle in the body, so it is important that you stay heart healthy, including exercising, eating right, not smoking, and getting regular checkups with your doctor. Another important item is to know your risk factors for heart disease and heart attacks. On the Doctor Oz website (2011), the following factors are listed, including stress, smoking, and obesity. For the full list, go to the following website: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/what-women-need-know-about-heart-attacks.
You also need to know the major symptoms that happen prior to and during a heart attack. Most symptoms that occur in men do not occur in women. In fact, women are most of the time told that they have indigestion and are sent home from the hospital while they are having a heart attack. Some of the major symptoms listed on About.com (2011) are anxiety, fatigue, and indigestion. For the complete list of symptoms, go to the following website: http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/healthmedical/a/womensami.htm.
Another great website is www.womensheart.org. This website includes exercise programs, nutrition and health information, and an action plan for women at risk for heart disease. To see this action plan, go to the following website: http://www.womensheart.org/content/HeartAttack/heart_attack_symptoms_risks.asp.
Doctor Oz also has a program that is 4 weeks or 28 days long. It is the 28 days to prevent a heart attack. This program can be found on the following website: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/28-day-heart-disease-action-plan.
On the www.goredforwomen.org website, they have a tell 5 and save lives plan. This includes telling five friends or family members about this website, and they will give you a free heart health kit.
I believe the most important thing anyone can do is become informed. The more information you have readily available, the more you can do to prevent your risk for a heart attack and heart disease. I hope that this blog helps at least 1 person become more informed about the deadly disease that is the number 1 killer in women. I know that this information has helped me become better informed and make healthier decisions to keep my heart healthy, so that I can live a very long life for my family and friends.
In addition, since February is American Hearth Month, every pound that I lose during the month of February, I am going to donate a dollar to the American Heart Association. For example, if I lose ten pounds during February, I will donate $10 to the AHA. If anyone would like to join me in this challenge, please feel free to do so, and let me know that you are doing this!
If I get help from others for this challenge, I will create a page within the next week or so, on the following website: http://amha.convio.net/site/TR?fr_id=1150&pg=entry. This will allow me to create a team or join as an individual, and it will allow others to see my progress and donate to the cause. Please, let me know if you would like to help me by donating some money, and it does not have to be much. If 250 people donate $1 each, than that is $250.00, while if we all donate $10 each, that will be $2,500.00. This money will help the AHA in distributing information and helping to reduce and prevent the risks of heart disease!
I am going to do my best to become healthier, starting by losing weight, so that I can reduce my risk for heart disease. What will you do?
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