Heartache

Dear Suzanne,

Recently you reminded me heart disease is the number one killer of women in Canada. Indeed, heart disease claims the lives of one in four women in this Country. Imagine that! Every single one of us knows someone with heart disease and, because women tend to think of cardiovascular disease as a male problem, women often ignore the signs. So, Suzanne, you lovely, talented woman, this is for you.

Did I say cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women in Canada? Well, make that “in the world.” Because women are so out-of-tune with their own bodies (oh, yes we are), we are more likely to succumb to heart disease than men. Women are 10 times more likely to die, just because they can’t believe cardiovascular disease could be happening to them. And women are six times more likely to die from heart disease than from breast cancer—or any type of cancer, for that matter. I’m not pooh-poohing breast cancer or any other form of cancer, I’m just saying. For old babes like me, one in eight of us between the ages of 45 and 65 (I’m closer to 65 than 45, by the way) live with cardiovascular disease and some of us don’t even know it. Here’s where I stop with the statistics and move on to something a bit more positive. Namely, what women should know, what women can do to change those darned statistics and how women can improve our chances of avoiding the whole issue of a faulty ticker.

Before I go one beat further, let me put one myth to rest. Women’s symptoms of heart problems aren’t really any different than the symptoms men experience. No they aren’t, but we’ve been told different. Women just describe things differently and do so for a variety of reasons. Perhaps women just can’t believe it could possibly happen to them or they don’t have time for a health wrinkle in their lives—wrinkles just stink. However, women do have time on their side, often not developing heart health problems until much later in life than most men. So, if you’re under age 65 or less than 10 years past menopause, you’ve got time to learn the warning signs and educate yourself about how to avoid heart health problems.

The beat goes on. So, you’re sitting at your desk and experiencing a funny kinda uncomfortable feeling in your chest and it just doesn’t go away. Most women figure it might be the coffee with too much cream and sugar. Honestly, you’d know if it were the coffee. Or a woman might figure it could be something the boss said or maybe it was eating lunch on the run. Women don’t often think, “Hey, it could a warning something isn’t at all right.” Perhaps you could feel a bit of heaviness or burning or tightness in your chest, your shoulder, arm, neck, back (yup, your back) or your jaw, and I’m not talking just about the left side of your body—do go there—because the pain could be all over. Whatever the feeling is, it just doesn’t go away and you’re beginning to feel just a bit anxious. An anxiety or sense of foreboding is also a warning sign. You might also be feeling any or all of the following— don’t go looking for multiples, either. Any or all of shortness of breath, unusual fatigue, paleness of skin, sweating or clamminess, general weakness, sudden nausea, vomiting, indigestion, an unusual pain spreading down one or both arms—these are symptoms that should have you reaching for the phone and dialling 911 or getting help from a co-worker. Remember, it’s better to be safe than sorry; don’t ever be afraid to ask for medical assistance. Women, it seems, just don’t want to be a bother even though “it’s nothing” could put a woman in a lifeand- death situation.

And the beat goes on. Now, the weird news is women experience more “silent heart attacks” than men. The “silent” part simply means you could be having a heart attack and there’s “no pain.” Bad enough the statistics are stacked against women, right? But now, one of the key symptoms might not be present. It’s great when a bell at the front door sounds to let you know there’s company on the porch, but occasionally there’s faulty wiring in the system. The backup system for women (men, too) is knowing all of the other symptoms.

Are you a female over the age of 45? Do you or someone in your immediate family have heart health problems? Sometimes genetics plays a big role. It did for LOML— an active, physically fit kinda person who could marathon his way out of bypass surgery in 2006. Know your family health history. Do you have diabetes? Do you have thyroid disease? Do you or did you ever smoke or have you ever been exposed to secondhand smoke on a regular basis? (I grew up in an era when most dads smoked. Everyday for 19 years I lived with secondhand smoke. It’s an important factor in my heart health. Maybe for you, too.) Do you enjoy a yummy high-fat, low-fibre diet? Come on. Froot Loops isn’t really two servings of fruit and there isn’t any fibre in beer even if it’s made from grain. How about exercise? You know, the kind of exercise that’s something more strenuous than crossing your legs the other way or putting the garbage out once a week. Do you have more than a normal share of stress in your life? Some stress is good, but wanting to hip check the person ahead of you in the checkout because they’re paying in loose change might indicate you’ve got a bit of extra stress. What about your weight? Women, are you telling yourselves the size 12 jeans mean you don’t have a weight problem? I like that game, too. Next time you have physical, ask to be weighed and don’t be afraid to ask your physician or nurse practitioner if you could stand to lose a couple of pounds. If you’re a woman and your waist measures more than 32 inches, or about 81 centimetres, you have an increased risk of developing high blood pressure and diabetes. Don’t be fooling yourself, get that tape measure out and face the facts. Ask your health practitioner to check your cholesterol levels. Education is the best defence.