According to the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, heart disease is the No. 1 worldwide killer of women and men. Heart disease or cardiovascular disease includes strokes and heart attacks, which involves the narrowing or blocking of blood vessels. The symptoms can appear different ways in men and women.
The most common symptom for men and women is chest pain. Women might have a shortness of breath, sweating, or unusual fatigue. (Mayo Foundation, 2009) These symptoms seem to be unrelated to cardiovascular disease so it is easily misdiagnosed. According to the Mayo Foundation, women tend to have severe damage to the heart when they show up in an Emergency Room due to the less obvious symptoms.
Although the symptoms are different , the risk factors are the same for men and women. The older people get, the higher the changes of having heart disease. Smoking, hypertension, and high cholesterol also increases the chances. Older men and women should remain physically active, refrain from smoking, and excessive alcohol intake to lower the chances. (National Institute of Health, 2009) The disease manifests differently men ans women but tht severity is the same.
National Institute of Health. (March 2009). What are heart disease risk factors? Retrieved from website: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/hd/hd_whatare.html
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (June 23, 2009). Heart Disease. Retrieved from website: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-disease/DS01120
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Hi Samisha,
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts and advice on cardiovascular disease is “take it seriously.” Just last night I was watching a show, the doctor Oprah made famous, Dr. Oz This particular episode concerned a meat eating cowboy named Rocco. When his lab work results came back, Dr. Oz gave the cowboy the bad news in the “truth tube”; Although Rocco was 53 years old, he had the heart of an 85 year old. Every one of the big health indicators from weight, waist circumference, LDL & HDL cholesterol to A1C levels...”was off the charts” bad! His arteries where well clogged with plague buildup. All in all, his longevity did not look good at all. Cowboy Rocco was visibly shook up and his brow was beading up with sweat as he asked Dr Oz if this bad news was reversible. It was! But the condition was only “if” the cowboy became a “vegan” for 28 days! In other words, give up all meat and go on a 28 day vegetarian diet. Which Rocco did! After the 28 days were up, he went back for follow up lab work, which was revealed on the TV show. The results were much better and showed a major reversal in all areas. His A1C went from a 9.0 to a 7.7 (he was no longer an automatic diabetic). His weight went down by about 30 Lbs, his good and bad cholesterol (HDL & LDL) improved considerably and his waist size went from 49 to 43 inches.
http://dailyhealthweb.blogspot.com/
Wow, you have provided a lot of very useful information. I think it is important to know all these things because you never know if/when you may be faced with cardiovascular difficulties. I worry about having to deal with these issues because of my family's medical history. I hope that by becoming informed, I can reduce my risk of having to deal with these issues.
ReplyDeleteReally informative!!! I hope that people who read this take these symptoms into consideration and really take this seriously. I have a grandfather who has heart problems due to lack of exercise and eating alot of fried and fatty foods. He was on a trip in Hawaii and was experiencing shortness of breaths, and bad chest pains. He got back from Hawaii and had to get a quadruple bypass surgery. It was truly scary and I hope I never have to experience something like that
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