Be A Heart-Healthy Valentine
By PHIL VERSTEN
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February embraces not only the season of valentine greetings, but it also is proclaimed by the White House as American Heart Month — a time to focus on heart health awareness.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, with women making up half of the 631,636 deaths in 2006 that stemmed from heart disease. A heart attack, or myocardial infarction, is the primary health concern for people who have heart disease.
“Myocardial infarction is defined as death of heart tissue,” says Dr. Joel D. Robbins of Palatine Heart Center in Crystal Lake and Lake Zurich.
“We need to do everything we can to prevent that from happening, because once a portion of cardiac tissue dies, it is irreversible.”
A heart attack is not the direct interference of the distribution of blood to the rest of the body, but a blockage to one of the major arteries that leads to the heart. Without the oxygen supplied by the blood, portions of heart muscle start to die.
“High blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes can lead to premature build up of cholesterol plaque,” Robbins says.
“The plaque interferes with the ability of a portion of the heart muscle itself to function properly. Heart attacks are usually caused by unstable cholesterol plaque.”
Pain Signals May Differ Between Men and Women
The strain of a heart attack sends a warning in the form of pain, but men and women may experience pain differently, or at least express pain differently.
“Angina is chest pain caused by insufficient blood flow from the heart muscle usually caused by coronary artery disease,” Robbins says.
“Often times, women describe heart attack angina as a sharp or burning sensation. Men usually describe it as an elephant sitting on their chest, with the pain radiating down the neck and jaw and going down the left arm.
“In women, the signals could come as the sudden onset of a severe shortness of breath, cold sweats and nausea,” he continues.
“No one is 100 percent certain why the symptoms differ between men and women.”
One hypothesis ascribes the difference to microvascular disease in women, according to Robbins.
“Because women have smaller blood vessels than men generally, it impacts them differently,” he says.
It is a myth that women are less likely to encounter heart attacks. More women die from coronary artery disease than anything else.
“They need to be more aware,” Robbins says.
However, there is good news. Due to increased awareness, better prevention efforts and improving medical breakthroughs, heart attack rates are declining, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.
Prevention
As complicated as the interpretation of angina pain can be, the course to limit the risks of heart disease is fairly simple and straightforward, Robbins says. He suggests an eight-step process to ensure heart health.
• See your doctor regularly, at least once a year.
• Have your cholesterol checked on a regular basis, whether it is high or not.
• Have your blood pressure checked and aggressively controlled if it is high.
• Control diabetes.
• Stop smoking and don’t allow yourself to be exposed to secondary smoke.
• Be active; engage in 30 to 60 minutes of moderate activity daily.
• Maintain a normal body weight.
• Eat a heart-healthy diet, low in sugars and saturated fat, and eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.
