Healthy Heart

It has come to my attention that more women die from heart attacks than men do. In America the statistics are stacked against women, at 25% of men and 38% women.

There is a reason for this unfortunate reality. Which is because women have their heart attacks around 66 years of age but for men heart attacks happen earlier in their fifties. I don’t imply that younger women do not ever have heart attacks but it is a less common occurrence.

Strokes can, and do happen to young women, just ask my son. His assistant became disorientated and then collapsed at 34. Since then I have known four women all in their thirties who collapsed from strokes. These women suffered from stress; they may have hormonal imbalance problems; be drinking heavily or on birth control; or all of the above. Cardio vascular health matters regardless of your age.

Women tend to ignore early warning symptoms and doctors tend to misdiagnose when it comes to heart problems. Some of these symptoms can be vague and easily confused with symptoms of menopause , stress and anxiety . But if you suffer from any of these get checked out and have an ECG done by a specialist. It is your right to take care of yourself.

I once insisted on an ECG and the doctor found that I was suffering a viral condition that was weakening my heart. Fortunately I recovered.

The symptoms include:

I experienced two bad falls at this time.

Not all women get severe pain but when it does come, get help immediately. Never delay searching for the asprin, your life may depend on it. Asprin will not automatically save you from the first heart attack but may lessen the damage. Get the paramedics in as soon as you can.

You can go a long way to prolong your life if you:

1. Give up smoking
2. Stop heavy drinking but a tot of Port or wine is good for your heart
3. Eat all your yellow and green vegetables
4. Cut down on fatty meats and dairy products
5. Up you intake of healthy fats you need triglyceride. Low levels of these are linked to increased heart attack risk. I take salmon and evening Primrose oil and I believe I am doing a good thing for myself. Click here for more on healthy fats .
6. Know your blood pressure. Mine tends to be low, but I am still at risk because of other factors.
7. Get adequate exercise , sloth kills......walk. Join the local Walk for life group or go walking around the block, dig in your garden, play sport or visit the gym, do what ever floats your boat.
8. Cut down on sugar and if diabetic, keep it under strict control.
9. Keep your weight on the healthy zone for you . I will never emphasise this enough.

By the way vitamin E has not been shown to be effective in preventing heart attacks.

About the Author

Melodrama is a visiting author to healthfun-ps and Soso’s blogger-friend. This article is based on her life experiences. Thank you Melodrama.

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