Did you
know that cardiovascular disease is the leading killer of women in the U.S?
Coronary artery disease (CAD)
kills more women in the U.S. than all cancers combined.
Post-menopausal women rates of
CAD are almost equal to that of men. Women are 10 years older than men on
average when diagnosed with CAD, possibly due to delayed diagnosis and there
are differences in symptoms between men and women which is fairly important. Delayed
diagnosis can be caused because diseases, such as arthritis or osteoporosis, which
can obscure CAD symptoms (Shirato and Swan 2010)
Further, the reason why so many
women have delayed diagnosis is because women’s chest pain is associated more
often with abdominal pain, dyspnea, nausea, and fatigue. Also more women than
men with CAD have diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia (High
cholesterol), and a family history of CAD. Other factors that can relate to CAD
include smoking, abdominal obesity, and certain co-morbidities, such as
diabetes and renal disease, should be considered (Shirato and Swan 2010).
Eating foods that are nutritional can decrease some of this factors such as
diabetes and obesity.
Cardiovascular disease is a
serious issue that many women should be aware of. Women should really education
themselves on the signs and symptoms of CAD just to be on the safe side of
things because I know I am lucky to be alive til this day. Most people think
just because they are young they do not have to worry about heart diseases and
other associated disease such as renal diseases and diabetes. Now- a -days
these diseases target anyone, age does not matter. Moreover, when I was
eighteen years old I was diagnosed with having all of the symptoms of heart
failure and because I have asthma I figured that was the cause of my shortness
of breath. Around the time when I started feeling ill I was in the process of
summer training for college basketball. So I ignored my chest pain and ruled it
out as being sore from lifting weights. Well the pain continued and only got
worse so I went to the hospital and was hospitalized due to pneumonia and
increased heart rate for a month. In regards to my story my words to all the
young women out there, make sure you keep your health up to date and eat
nutritional food to ensure your health remains good.
Any comments/questions. I would like feedback on this topic regarding
women’s cardiovascular health and the risk factors that can increase women’s
chances of being diagnosed with cardiovascular disease.
