Can it be breast cancer or even lung cancer? It sure is some of the most feared diseases a women can think of, but is it the biggest killer of women above 50 years old? Surprisingly research and statistics reveals that cancer is not the culprit in this case, no heart disease takes the credit for this one. We often think of ourselves as being invulnerable to heart attacks and strokes, but if you are a woman in the menopausal stage of your life, then now is the time to pay attention. According to research, women sure has a very definable advantage over men in terms of heart diseases, but we sure catch up very quickly and by the age of 65 have the same risk of having a heart attack, stroke or any other coronary disease as men do. Shockingly by this age, us women has a greater risk of dying from it. As the physiological working and differences between men and women's hearts are only being studied now, it has became clear that these differences are literally killing us.We discuss the reasons: 1. Women's symptoms are different A women can never be sick as they have to always be ready for the husband, the children and for themselves, thus they sometimes might feel a bit "under the weather" and can easily mistake these as normal aging or just being exhausted. Many times cardiac disease is being missed as a women's symptoms of cardiomyopathy is different and more subtle. They might have the classic symptoms which are known by the dooming chest pain and the all known pain down the left arm, but not always as they can sometimes have minimal discomfort and no chest pain at all. Women will usually notice the following when there is an underlying heart disease: *Profound fatigue *Difficulty breathing *Feeling dizzy *Nausea *Vomiting *Having an impending feeling of doom *Profuse sweating *Pain or discomfort in the neck, shoulder blade or upper back *Burning abdominal pain 2. Treatment and response to treatment - When a women has been diagnosed with a heart disease or having a heart attack, they are treated with different medication as men. When women are treated for cardiac disease, the medication used may not work as effective with women as with men. It has been found that some anticoagulants just works better for men than women. 3. Diagnosing heart diseases - Normal testing procedures like the treadmill, stress test and angiography that are usually used to diagnose heart diseases are not helpful at all to diagnose women's heart disease. An angiogram is used to determine the health of blood vessels, but in women a vessel that has a significant plaque lining will show up clear and thus give false information. This happens when the plaque lining has not yet intruded into the vessel. 4. Women "tough it out" - No one ever want to admit that they are having a heart attack and usually try to convince themselves if they have symptoms of a heart attack that it is probably just indigestion or heartburn. Women has the tendency to minimize the discomfort of a cardiac pain and will thus wait long before admitting that they are having a heart attack and need medical assistance. Women also have a higher tolerance for cardiac pain and will thus not experience it as agonising as men. This might sound all well, but it's not as it might mean that women with chest pain will not be treated as aggresively as in the case with men. REDUCE YOUR RISK NOW!! Although you can not control your age, gender and family history, there are many other factors that you can control in order to reduce your risk of getting heart diseases. You can surely change your lifestyle and your social behaviour. Making the right lifestyle changes can decrease your risk of heart disease by as much as 50% within 10 years. Here are some of the most important changes: 1. Stay on top of your health - It is extremely important to get yearly checkups in order to identify potential threats and problems. It is very important to have your blood pressure checked and to do a cholesterol screen. It is also very important should you suffer from diabetes or high blood pressure to monitor it closely and keep it within normal limits. This will help your body to cope with all the stresses and to have a more healthy lifestyle and ultimately live longer. 2. Stop smoking! - Everyone knows that smoking is bad for your health and it is very hard on your body. This is even worse for women than for men, but we won't tell them that else they think they have reason to continue smoking. Statistics shows that women that smokes has a much higher risk of heart disease much sooner than those that don't smoke. 3. Diet and exercise - I know it's that ugly word again.... diet!! If it was easy then all of us would be thin and fit, but it's not. Moving around more and getting used to a low fat diet are both things that can easily be controlled and managed and it will add years to your life. 4. Dont's stress, be happy - Stress and depression are quite tough on your heart and have adverse effects on your life. Always try to reduce your stress and enjoy a healthy lifestyle as this will ease some of the pressure on your heart. 5. Take aspirin - Aspirin can be very good to reduce the load on your heart, but should only be taken after a consultation with your practitioner. Aspirin can also be a very deadly medication during a stroke as it is an anticoagulant and will cause the sufferer to have continuous bleeding. Always consult your practitioner before using any new or long term medication. 6. Never forget your roots - It is always advisable to know what diseases were prominent in your family history. Knowing this can help you and your physician to plan the best treatmant and lifestyle based on your risk factor. Prevention is better than cure did my mom always use to say, and I am sticking to it. 7. Education, education and education - Educating yourself on any subject is the best weapon to fight anything. Always read about your health and the stages of your life in order to know what to be careful of, what to prevent and what is normal and what not. This way you will immediately notice if something is abnormal. When you have learned about it, spread the word and warn all your family and friends, they will thank you for it and you might save their life. Let's help each other stay healthy. And now, repeat after me: I am IRREPLACEABLE!! Now believe it and live like you mean it.
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