DID YOU KNOW?
"Heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 and No. 3 killers of
women? They are two of the many cardiovascular diseases that
kill nearly 500,000 women each year. That's more than the next
seven causes of death combined, including all forms of cancer."
Read more.....
American
Heart Organization
"Eight times as many women die from heart disease and stroke than
from breast cancer. In Canada, 40% of all Canadian women's
deaths are due to these diseases. contrary to popular belief,
hypertension (high blood pressure) is not usually caused by stress
or anxiety. It is a condition that makes your
heart work too hard. A woman's risk of death from heart
disease increases 4 times after menopause." More
info at.......Health
Canada's Women's Health Bureau
MORE STATISTICS
- 8,000,000 American women are currently living with heart
disease - 10% of women ages 45 - 64 and 25% age 65 and over.
- 6,000,000 of women today have a history of heart attack
and/or angina or both.
- Nearly 13% of women age 45 and over have had a heart attack.
- 435,000 American women have heart attacks each year; 83,000
are under age 65 and 9,000 are under age 45. Their average age
is 70.4.
- 4,000,000 women suffer from angina, and 47,000 of them were
hospitalized in 1999.
At-Risk:
- The age-adjusted rate of heart disease for African American
women is 72% higher than for white women, while African American
women ages 55-64 are twice as likely as white women to have a
heart attack and 35% more likely to suffer from coronary artery
disease.
- Women who smoke risk having a heart attack 19 years earlier
than nonsmoking women.
- Women with diabetes are two to three times more likely to
have heart attacks.
- High blood pressure is more common in women taking oral
contraceptives, especially in obese women.
- 39% of white women, 57% of black women, 57% of Hispanic
women, and 49% Asian/Pacific Islander women are sedentary and
get no leisure time physical activity.
- 23% of white women, 38% of black women, and 36% Mexican
American women are obese.
Symptoms you Should Never Ignore
A "silent killer," Coronary artery disease
shrikes when a woman doe not expect it. The American Heart
Association asks women to be sensitive to the following:
-Uncomfortable pressure, fulLness, squeezing pain in the center
of the chest more than a few minutes.
-Pain that spreads to the shoulders, neck, or arms.
-Chest discomfort with lightheadedness, fainting, sweating,
nausea, and shortness of breath.
Other Less Common Signs:
-Stomach pain
-Nausea
-Unexplained anxiety, weakness, or fatigue
-Heart palpitations, cold sweat, or paleness.
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