Her heart his heart

The following Hernando Today health partner content is provided by Oak Hill Hospital, an HCA affiliate facility.

Cardiovascular disease was once considered chiefly a men's health concern. Today, this condition is the leading cause of death among American men and women.

In fact, cardiovascular disease affects approximately 37.9 million men and 42.7 million women in the United States, according to the American Heart Association. These staggering numbers only reveal part of the issue-the disease can manifest differently in women than in men. No matter your gender, you can take steps to protect your heart and vascular health by learning a few basics.

Know and Lower the Risks

Risk factors for heart disease that apply to both sexes include tobacco usage, lack of exercise, uncontrolled diabetes, poor diet, elevated blood pressure and cholesterol, and family history of heart disease.

Additional risk factors more prevalent among women include:

Depression-Women are twice as likely as men to develop depression, which increases cardiovascular disease risk.

Stress-Women are more susceptible to stress. Excessive amounts of stress may raise blood pressure and can lead to unhealthy habits such as overeating, skipping daily exercise, and smoking.

Fortunately, estrogen may offer women some protection from cardiovascular disease through their childbearing years. After menopause, however, the incidence rate of the disease increases for women, and those rates increase sooner in smokers.

While you cannot change your family medical history, you can manage most other risk factors through lifestyle changes or medication. Talk to your physician about how to lower your risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

See the Signs

Signs of cardiovascular disease for both sexes range from rapid or irregular heartbeat to chest discomfort to fatigue and dizziness to difficulty breathing. Swelling of feet and ankles can also be a symptom.

Cardiovascular disease can culminate into sudden cardiac arrest or a heart attack, both of which constitute emergency situations that require immediate medical attention.
Protect yourself by knowing these symptoms of heart attack:

Chest pain, fullness or uncomfortable pressure in the center of the chest for more than a few minutes or that is intermittent

Shortness of breath that may or may not be accompanied by chest pain

Unwell feeling, including cold sweats, nausea, or light-headedness

Upper body pain in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw, or stomach

Additionally, women also sometimes report symptoms of fatigue, indigestion not relieved by antacids, and anxiety.

"Heart disease causes one of four deaths among women in the United States each year, and risk increases with age. Both men and women have heart attacks, but more women die from them. All women should take steps to protect their hearts by maintaining a healthy weight, getting plenty of exercise, finding healthy ways to cope with stress, limiting alcohol, not smoking, and getting regular checkups."-Mowaffak Atfeh, MD, board-certified cardiology and internal medicine physician at Oak Hill Hospital and Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point

"Our goal is to treat each patient in a way that offers optimal results. Knowing the differences in symptoms for men and women and realizing that plaque can form differently in women than in men only furthers that cause. The more we can learn about gender differences in cardiovascular health, the better outcomes we will have for patients."-Christos J. Pitarys II, MD, FACC, interventional cardiologist, board certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular disease on staff at Community Hospital and Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point

For a referral to a cardiologist, call 1-877-4-HCA-DOCS (1-877-442-2362) or visit www.HCAdocs.org.