Women’s Heart Health The Focus Of VNA Meeting

By Nancy K. Crevier

After two postponements due to storms in February, American Heart Month, The Newtown Chapter of the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) met Tuesday morning, March 1, at Maplewood at Newtown, to celebrate Go Red For Women, a unit of the American Heart Association supporting research and awareness of heart disease in the female population.

Sixteen members of the local VNA were joined at the breakfast meeting by invited guests First Selectman Pat Llodra, Selectman Will Rodgers, and Newtown Health Director Donna Culbert, as well as guest speaker Molly Gill, an exercise physiologist in the cardiac rehabilitation unit at Danbury Hospital.

“Women are still the ‘lost’ population,” in regard to heart disease awareness, Ms Gill told the group. What women need to know is that deaths from the top major diseases combined do not equal the number of women who die from some form of cardiovascular disease. “Heart disease is the number one killer of women,” said Ms Gill. It is vitally important, she went on to say, to raise awareness about the risks, and ways in which women can reduce those risks. “I love seeing that you have given out the red dress pins today, that I see women wearing them,” Ms Gill said. The pin, as simple a gesture as it is, is a wonderful way to raise awareness, she said. “People have to get right up close to you to see that pin, and they will ask, ‘What does it mean?’ It’s a great opportunity to tell others about heart disease in women,” said Ms Gill.

The statistics Ms Gill provided to the gathering on Tuesday were sobering: 500,000 women die each year from heart disease, and one in five women in the United States has heart disease. “For almost 46 percent of women, the first sign they will have [of heart disease] is a heart attack or death from a cardiac event. And only eight percent of women perceive heart disease as the greatest risk.”

The percentage of women with cardiovascular disease jumps noticeably after age 45, from 13.6 percent of the population between the ages of 15 and 44, to 28.9 percent of the population between the ages of 45 and 54, up to 79 percent of those aged 75 and over.

By virtue of being female, a woman is at risk for a heart event, said Ms Gill. “Why do we see this in older women? Menopause is one big reason,” she said. “Menopause means a lessening of estrogen in the body, which means there is a loss of vascular protection. Look at your other risk factors,” suggested Ms Gill.

“You need to ask your doctor about your heart risk factors,” she stressed. “No heart attack is ever a ‘little’ heart attack. All of them are significant,” said Ms Gill.

A family history of a first degree relative with heart disease (men who experienced an event before age 45 or women who experienced heart issues before age 55) puts one at greater risk.

Hypertension (high blood pressure) can contribute to heart disease. “Think about the salt in your diet, stress, how much caffeine you drink. With blood pressure, you want to keep your top number under 120, and your bottom number under 80. Lower,” she stressed, “is better.”

Simple steps are all that are needed to obtain big, lifesaving results, though. Eat smaller portions to maintain a healthy weight. “Just a 2.2-pound weight loss can switch you from being hypertensive to not being hypertensive,” she said. Read labels, monitor packaged and processed food intake, and eat out infrequently in order to manage sodium intake. “We recommend no more than 2,500 milligrams of sodium in a day,” she said. Substituting sea salt for regular table salt, and grinding it in a salt grinder can also help with sodium intake.

High cholesterol should serve as a red flag. “Ask your doctor for a breakdown of your blood work,” said Ms Gill. “If you are already diagnosed with some form of heart disease, we now suggest that the total cholesterol should be under 150. The HDL reading should be higher — the higher, the better. LDL should be under 70. Question the doctor about triglyceride levels and blood sugar levels, as well,” she said.

Aging and menopause are not choices a woman can make, but there are lifestyle choices that can tip the scale toward a healthier heart, said Ms Gill. “Increase your physical activity. Exercise at least three times a week, for at least 30 minutes each time. More is better. More frequent exercising, for longer periods of time. Do what you enjoy, and break it up during the day into 10 or 15 minutes at a time if you must,” she urged. “The big benefit of exercising is that you don’t have to remember to take a pill,” she said.

Alcohol in moderation can be beneficial to the heart. That means, for women, no more than three ounces of wine — ideally, red wine — each day; or one 12-ounce beer; or one ounce of hard liquor. “But don’t start drinking if you don’t already,” she cautioned.

The symptoms of heart disease can be subtle in women, making it all the more important for women to be aware of signs that all is not well.

“A heart attack can happen whether you are at rest or exerting yourself. You might feel pain or pressure in the middle of your chest, but it will probably not be the crushing type of pain that men tend to experience,” she said. Any pain that radiates into the neck, jaw, or even the teeth should be addressed. Arm and shoulder pain, on either side of the body, can indicate a heart problem. Sweating with abdominal pain, or nausea and vomiting, or fainting episodes are also symptoms indicating a heart problem. As a cardiologist explained to her, said Ms Gill, “Anything between the mouth and the belly button can be the heart.”

Extreme, constant exhaustion or shortness of breath, for no valid reason, are symptoms that should be reported to the doctor.

If a woman suspects she is having a cardiac event, “Don’t call your neighbor. Don’t call your son or daughter. Don’t call your friend. Call 911,” said Ms Gill. “I’d rather have you die of embarrassment when you get to the emergency room and find out it is gas or the flu, than to have you die of a heart attack.”

By calling 911 when a heart attack is suspected, the patient gets a jump on crucial care. “EMTs make up for lost time during transport by calling ahead so an intervention team is ready, by doing an EKG, and providing other information that would not be done until you were admitted if you drive yourself to the ER,” said Ms Gill.

It can be helpful to chew two, noncoated aspirin while waiting for the response team, but it is important to let caregivers know that aspirin has been administered.

The bottom line, said Ms Gill, is that women must realize that they are not at all exempt from heart disease. “Spread the word. Talk to other women and let them know about women and heart disease factors. In the past three years there has been a significant increase in awareness, and a drop in women with cardiovascular events. The work we do now,” she emphasized, “can stop heart disease in its tracks.”