LOVE YOUR HEART

Heart disease is the biggest health threat to women and is directly linked to inflammation, but its symptoms are not always recognizable. By Lisa Arbetter

Heart disease is a tough disease to get your head around. There’s no single test, no mammogram equivalent, and often no symptoms. Heart disease is multifactorial, meaning a patient has multiple risk factors. And some of those factors– high blood pressure and high cholesterol, for example– you can’t feel. Even the way heart attacks strike women can be confounding: While chest pain is common, many women liken their symptoms to the flu, with extreme weakness. Others feel pain in the back, neck, jaw, or stomach; have shortness of breath or nausea; or break out in a cold sweat. And, of course, “women often minimize their symptoms,” says cardiologist Nieca Goldberg, MD, the founding medical director of NYU Langone’s Joan H. Tisch Center for Women’s Health. “They come into my office saying, ‘Oh, I had chest tightness, so I just went online to check it out.’ We need to get the message out: You should call 911. You shouldn’t waist time.”

What can I do to protect myself?

Get to a doctor–it doesn’t have to be a cardiologist—and have your blood pressure checked and your blood tested. Speak up if you smoke, have a family history of heart issues or diabetes, have an autoimmune disease, went through early menopause (before age 50), or had pregnancy complications, especially preeclampsia. Even if you gave birth years ago, it’s relevant. These factors put you at higher risk. If that laundry list doesn’t apply to you, your doctor will calculate your 10-year risk by analyzing your blood work.

If you’re deemed low-risk, lifestyle changes may be prescribed. High-risk patients may also be given medication. Unclear risk? A coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring may be in order.

Once you have heart disease, it’s considered chronic. You can improve the symptoms with lifestyle changes, like quitting smoking, diet and exercise.

How healthy is healthy enough?

“We in the cardiovascular community are very enthusiastic about the Mediterranean diet,” says Dr. Eze-Nliam, “It doesn’t force people to completely exclude certain foods.” Specifically, focus your diet on fruits, nuts, whole grains, plant based protein, lean animal proteins, and vegetables. Limit consumption of trans fats and sugar.

As for exercise, the target is at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity at least 5 days a week. It’s anything active that moves the skeletal muscles–moderate gardening, brisk walking, dancing, yoga, leisurely swimming. All activity counts. Anything you can do is better than nothing.