Heart disease: It's not just for men

Heart disease may kill more women than cancer.Women may experience shortness of breath, exhaustion, or nausea of a heart attack.A healthy diet and lifestyle has proved effective to prevent heart diseas.

For years, doctors have been fighting the perception that heart disease is a mainly male affliction, but in fact more than three-quarters of American women will get heart disease in their lifetime. Heart disease may kill more women than cancer.

Most women aren't aware of the risk they face and even their doctors are only just beginning to realize there are critical differences between men's and women's heart health.

According to an American Heart Association study, initially done in 1997, that found tnly 30 percent of women were aware that heart disease and stroke were their greatest health threats.

Part of the reason heart disease is so widespread among women is a notable lack of research and understanding among doctors of how the disease shows up in women, and how it should be treated.

The most common symptom of a heart attack is chest pain or discomfort. But warning signs also include pain or discomfort elsewhere in the upper body, including the arms, back, neck or stomach. Women in particular may experience shortness of breath, exhaustion, nausea or vomiting, and back or jaw pain.

In February, the American Heart Association released updated guidelines for preventing and treating cardiovascular disease in women. In the guidelines, women are encouraged to ask their doctors about daily aspirin use and aggressively make lifestyle changes that could ease the long-term risk for heart disease and stroke, such as losing weight, exercising regularly and quitting smoking.

Some people are smart enough to follow a healthy diet and lifestyle to prevent heart disease and such an approach has proved effective. For instance, a restrictive diet such as Ornish diet can help stop or even reverse progression of heart disease in 99 percent of men and women.

Whether you choose drugs or a healthy lifestyle to prevent heart disease, you need to know that you should not wait for heart disease to develop and then deal with it.

Article Source: Medical Health Care Information