Younger Women Miss Heart Attack Signs

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Q. Glen, Can Younger Women Miss the Warning Signs of a Heart Attack?


A. Yes Misunderstood Symptoms Noted by Women Aged 55 and Younger Who've Had Heart Attacks

Heart Attack symptoms sometimes get missed or dismissed by women aged 55 and younger, a new study shows.

The study included 30 women aged 55 and younger (average age: 48) who had had heart attacks. The women were interviewed within a week of leaving the hospital after their heart attack.

In those interviews, the women talked about their initial recognition of their symptoms -- and what they did about those symptoms.

Here are the obstacles the women had in recognizing their symptoms:

• They thought they were too young to be having a heart attack.
• They had atypical symptoms that lasted for more than a day.
• They chalked up their symptoms to other conditions, not to a heart attack.

While some women sought treatment straight away, others hesitated for a broad range of reasons, including uncertainty, preference for self-medication, a perception of negative treatment from health care providers, and even being too busy to get their symptoms checked right away.

"Young women described a complex internal dialogue as they decided when to engage the health care system," write the researchers, who included Judith Lichtman, PhD, MPH.

The women also noted that health care workers didn't always immediately recognize the fact that they were having a heart attack.

The findings were presented on May 1 in Baltimore at the American Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke Conference 2008.

Heart Attacks in Women

Heart Attack is the No. 1 killer of U.S. women. And while Heart attack Disease Among Women becomes more common after menopause, it can -- and does -- affect younger women.

Every year in the U.S., heart disease kills about 16,000 young women and accounts for 40,000 hospitalizations in young women, according to the American Heart Association.

For both women and men, heart attack symptoms can include:

• Squeezing chest pains or pressure
• Shortness of breath
• Sweating
• Tightness in chest
• Pain spreading to shoulders, neck, arm, or jaw
• Feeling of heartburn or indigestion with or without nausea and vomiting
• Sudden dizziness or brief loss of consciousness

Heart attack symptoms that are more likely to occur in women include:

• Indigestion or gas-like pain or nausea
• Unexplained dizziness, weakness, or fatigue
• Discomfort or pain between the shoulder blades
• Recurring chest discomfort
• Sense of impending doom

Those symptoms don't always indicate a heart attack, but the stakes are too high to take chances. Call 911 at the first sign of a possible heart attack.

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

BP Meds After Stroke

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Q. Glen, I had a stroke in March of this year due to high blood pressure. Is there any way to lower blood pressure without prescription drugs?"


A. The short answer to your question is yes – many studies have shown that adopting a healthy lifestyle can lower blood pressure. However, a history of stroke — or heart disease or diagnosed hypertension (140/90 mmHg or higher) — means you may need to take medications in conjunction with modifying your lifestyle to achieve a healthy blood-pressure level.

Here are some heart-smart strategies to incorporate into your life:

• Watch your weight. Shed pounds if you are overweight, and maintain your weight if it is already normal. To determine if you're at your ideal weight, use Everyday Health's BMI calculator.
  
• Get moving. Try to do 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, such as brisk walking, on most days of the week — and preferably every day. (But always speak with your physician prior to starting any exercise program.)
  
• Follow a healthy eating plan. Consume a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products, and decrease your intake of total and saturated fats.
  
• Reduce your dietary sodium intake to less than 2,300 mg (or less than one teaspoon of salt) per day. Try substituting salt with other seasonings, such as pepper, garlic, and vinegar.
  
• Watch what you drink. For men, limit your alcohol consumption to two drinks or less per day. Women should keep it to one drink or less per day. A drink is equal to 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wine, and 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor.
  
• If you smoke, quit and avoid exposure to secondhand smoke.

Lastly, it's important to know your blood pressure, so have it checked regularly. And if your physician prescribes blood pressure medication, always take it as directed.


Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

Apples may prevent hardening of arteries

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Q. Glen, Do apples help with atherosclerosis ?


A. A study on hamsters found apples and apple juice have cardiovascular protective properties similar to those of purple grapes, French researchers said.

Kelly Decorde of the University of Montpelier in France, part of the European research team, said processing the fruit into juice has the potential to increase the bioavailability of the naturally-occurring compounds and anti-oxidants found in the whole fruit.

The study, published in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, said aortic plaque was evaluated to determine the effectiveness in decreasing plaque that is associated with atherosclerosis -- or "hardening" of the arteries caused by multiple plaques within the arteries.

"This study demonstrates that processing apples and purple grapes into juice modifies the protective effect of their phenolics against diet induced oxidative stress and early atherosclerosis in hypercholesterolemic hamsters," the researchers said in a statement.

"These results show for the first time that long-term consumption of anti-oxidants supplied by apples and purple grapes, especially phenolic compounds, prevents the development of atherosclerosis in hamsters, and that the processing can have a major impact on the potential health effects of a product."

Reference:

WebMD

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!