Heart disease Heart attacks are the leading cause of death among women in the United States, killing more than 300,000 people each year, yet only about half of women are aware of the risks, signs and symptoms of a heart attack.
February 2nd was National Wear Red Day, established to raise awareness of cardiovascular disease, and CBS News Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. John LaPolk appeared on “CBS Mornings” to discuss what women need to know.
Although death rates have fallen over the past 20 years, heart disease still kills far too many people, LaPook said.
“It’s a dangerous misconception that heart disease is something that only affects men,” he said. “It’s the number one cause of death among women. There’s a reason we’re wearing red today – to draw attention to this issue. Because attention and understanding saves lives.”
Woman heart attack symptoms
According to LaPook, for women, the most common symptoms of a heart attack are:
- Chest pain
- shortness of breath
However, some atypical symptoms may also occur:
- nausea
- vomiting
- Malaise
- Pain in the jaw, back, or other areas
Risk factors for heart disease
When it comes to heart disease, there are several risk factors such as:
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- High cholesterol
- obesity
- Inactive
“Access to care is another issue,” LaPook adds. “You have to be able to actually see a doctor.”
“Quit smoking!” he urges, pointing out that “the decline in smoking is one of the main reasons for this decline.”
Are there any heart disease tests?
Know your numbers early on — weight, etc. blood pressure It’s the best way to monitor your heart health.
“It’s not something you wait until you have symptoms and then decide, ‘Okay, now I’m going to get serious about this.’ This is a lifelong thing, so you want to develop healthy habits from the moment you’re born,” LaPook says. That includes maintaining a healthy weight and knowing “what your numbers are.”
“High blood pressure often has no symptoms, so you need to know your numbers, make sure you don’t have diabetes, and make sure your lipids are normal.”
Heart Health and Pregnancy
Pregnancy is a “huge stress test,” LaPook says, and just like you wouldn’t start training the day before you’re going to run a marathon, you want to go into pregnancy in good overall health, she explains.
“Part of that means accessing health care, knowing your numbers and making sure you’re at a healthy weight,” he said. Growing concerns for Black women,confronting Rising mortality rate During pregnancy.
“This problem has been addressed sporadically in the past, but not enough, and the causes are multifactorial: social determinants of health,” LaPook said. “Lack of good housing, good food, access to health care, and of course implicit bias, all of these things combine to drive higher mortality rates for black women.”
High blood pressure is another concern and is the most common cardiovascular disease during pregnancy, according to a statement from the American Heart Association released earlier this month.
“Over the past 20 years, there has been a 25 percent increase in preeclampsia, a condition characterized by high blood pressure and high protein in the urine during pregnancy,” the AHA noted.
Preeclampsia can cause damage to organs, especially the heart and nervous system, Dr. Celine Gunder, CBS News medical contributor and public health editor for KFF Health News, explained during an appearance on “CBS Mornings” as part of National Heart Month in February.
“If it affects the nervous system, it can cause a woman to have seizures or strokes,” Gunder says. “High blood pressure can also cause the placenta to detach from the uterine wall, which is obviously dangerous to the pregnancy.”
While it is treatable, developing pre-eclampsia during pregnancy comes with long-term risks, so Gundur says it’s important to go into pregnancy in good health.
“High rates of hypertension, diabetes and obesity definitely increase the risk of preeclampsia,” she said, adding that postnatal care is also important.
“After giving birth, many women become overwhelmed. They focus on taking care of their baby, but not on taking care of themselves, and about 40 percent of women don’t have postpartum care, or taking care of themselves after pregnancy,” Gunder says. “More and more states are recognizing the importance of postpartum care, and the risks extend out to a year after birth, so more states are extending Medicaid coverage from six weeks to a year after birth.”
read more:
