What Girls Can Do to Forestall Coronary heart Illness

Our third installment of our Girls’s Well being Month sequence options Azadeh Toofaninejad, DO, a heart specialist with Dignity Well being Mercy Medical Group, sharing steerage on how coronary heart illness impacts girls. Dr. Toofaninejad addresses signs to look out for, threat elements and life-style modifications girls could make to lower their threat of coronary heart illness.

What are coronary heart illness signs in girls?

Dr. Toofaninejad: Coronary heart illness is the main reason for demise for girls in the USA. Usually, girls may have no signs of coronary heart illness, and others could expertise various severity of signs together with:

• Chest discomfort (also referred to as Angina)
• Neck, throat or jaw ache
• Nausea or vomiting
• Sweating
• Lightheadedness or dizziness
• Again or higher stomach ache

Have in mind, these signs could also be gentle, and a few girls could expertise them throughout sleep. Whereas these signs could not really feel as intense because the debilitating chest ache that always coincides with a coronary heart assault, it’s crucial for girls to contact their main care physician or ask to be referred to a heart specialist if they’re experiencing any of the above signs.

What are widespread threat elements that contribute to coronary heart illness in girls?

Dr. Toofaninejad: To assist forestall coronary heart illness, we give attention to decreasing or eliminating widespread threat elements together with:

• Excessive ldl cholesterol
• Hypertension
• Diabetes
• Weight problems
• Smoking
• Household historical past of untimely coronary heart illness

Girls who expertise issues throughout being pregnant, are in menopause or have low estrogen ranges are additionally at a better threat for coronary heart illness. Moreover, inflammatory illnesses together with rheumatoid arthritis and lupus could improve threat.

What life-style modifications can girls make to decrease their threat?

Dr. Toofaninejad: Easy life-style modifications like exercising repeatedly, not smoking, limiting alcohol consumption, sustaining a nutritious diet and managing stress ranges are all methods girls can enhance their coronary heart well being and assist forestall coronary heart illness. Embracing a wholesome life-style can have a major affect on girls’s well being.

Figuring out the indicators of coronary heart illness might save your life, however typically there are not any signs. Contact your main care doctor to debate your threat for coronary heart illness, or seek the advice of our “Discover a Physician” device to discover a Dignity Well being Medical Group physician close to you.

Don’t overlook to test our Dignity Well being Medical Teams Weblog for the most recent installments of our Girls’s Well being Month reminders, together with perception from physicians specializing in main care and OB-GYN care.