Listen up Ladies!

Ok...since I know some of this information got lost in my last post, I wanted to post it again. I've heard it said you have to hear or see something 7 times before it really sinks in. I have to say I was amazed during the health fair at Jungle Jims just how many women still do not realize their number 1 health threat. In one span of about 20 minutes, I would see 7 or 8 women that never knew heart disease was our number 1 killer (and I could tell some of them were not taking it serious even after you tell them) and then in another span of 20 minutes, I would hear stories from 7 or 8 women about how heart disease has touched them personally. It is so important to know this information but just knowing won't save your life. It takes ACTION. Why is it we are so good about getting our yearly mamograms and paps but we never give our heart a thought? So, here are some statistics concerning women and heart disease that I think are worth repeating:

**1 in 5 women have some form of cardiovascular disease.
**Since 1984, the number of cardiovascular deaths for females has exceeded those for males. The difference in deaths is now more than 58,200 a year.
**Final 1998 mortality for cardiovascular disease was 503,927 for females (this is in 1 year!) compared to 445,692 for males.


*****IN the US, cardiovascular disease claims the lives of 504,000 females annually: all forms of cancer combined claim 259,000. Breast cancer 41,700, lung cancer 64,500. So you can see, we need to start taking care of our hearts and really taking this more seriously!

**There is one death per minute for women

**Coronary heart disease is the single largest killer of American females.
**42% of women who have heart attacks die within a year compared with 24% of men.
**In 63% of women who died suddenly of coronary heart disease, there were no previous symptoms of this disease (so take your symptoms serious if you have any!)

Women don't recognize the symptoms of a heart attack and arrive too late at the hospital, causing more heart damage, death, or heart failure.

Many medical professionals (still) don't recognize the symptoms of a heart attack in women and take too long to make the diagnosis. If you are having symptoms........push your doctor to check your heart. You really have to be your own advocate!

**Review of the symptoms in women

**Fatigue
**Chest pain or discomfort can appear anywhere in the chest, abdomen, or below the rib cage. Even jaw pain can be a symptom of the heart. Some women have upper back pain.
**Heart palpitations or a "fluttering" heart beat
**Chest pain/discomfort develops during activity but subsides with the activity stops.
**Pain may appear during the night or in the morning and then subside.
**Shortness of breath, breathlessness
**Nausea, indigestion, gas (sometimes after eating)

If you have any of these symptoms, insist on a thorough check of your heart....not just an EKG......a thorough check of your heart is in order and not too much to ask. I never had pain.....only fatigue, nausea and shortness of breath and my doctor thought I was just doing too much and that I had asthma. I repeat......INSIST on a thorough check of your heart if you have any of those symptoms. Never let a doctor tell you that you're too young for heart disease or that you just need to slow down without first ruling out heart disease. It may save your life!