by Jennifer Cole 

Heart Disease – This disease is the leading killer of both sexes. Heart disease is responsible for more deaths in women than all types of cancer combined. Tragically enough, death itself isn’t the biggest problem for women with heart disease. The real trouble is premature death and disability. Women tend to be under diagnosed, sometimes to the point that it’s too late to help them because the condition is too severe. So many of the symptoms for women are symptoms that they all ready deal with in day to day life and they get looked over. Chest pain, shoulder ache, nausea, vomiting, or shortness of breath. A dangerous myth in today’s society is that heart disease affects mostly men. Realistically, more women than men die of heart disease each year in the United States. The earlier we can adapt a healthier lifestyle, the lower our overall risk for heart disease becomes. On a more positive note, heart disease is one of the most preventable health conditions. The best part is that you have the power to reduce some of your risks.

                       

-Avoid smoking and secondhand smoke (I feel this gets left out a lot and is just                                  as important as putting that smokestack in your mouth)

 

-Drink in moderation

 

-Have your diet be rich in fruits, veggies and whole-grain products

 

-Exercise

 

-Get control of any health conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes or high    

 cholesterol

 

Cancer – This was a surprise to me since I assumed the leading cancer for women would be ovarian or breast. The most common cause of cancer death in women according to the American Cancer Society is lung cancer. More than 70,000 women die each year of this cancer alone. The majority of these deaths are linked to cigarette smoking. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death for women. This cancer claims about 40,000 deaths each year. Being diagnosed with breast cancer isn’t a death sentence. There’s a lot of treatment, especially if you pay attention to your body and go to your well visits, etc…Some risk factors for breast cancer –

 

-         increasing age

-         family history of the disease

-         race, White women have a slighter risk compared to African-American women – yet African-Americans have a greater chance of dying from this disease

-         not having children

-         too much alcohol

-         early onset of menstruation (before age 12) or menopause after age 55

 

Another surprise to me was the third cancer – colorectal. Just like heart disease, colorectal cancer is often thought of as a man’s disease. However, an equal number of men and women die of this cancer each year. So many cancer deaths are related to controllable lifestyle factors such as nutrition.

 

Stroke – Close to 160,000 people a year in the United States die of stroke each year and almost two-thirds of them are women. Two extremely important risk factors for stroke are smoking and uncontrolled high blood pressure. Having a stroke is highly preventable but of course certain risk factors can’t be controlled. Family history, age, sex and race. Some steps you can take to prevent a stroke would be –

-         don’t smoke

-         take control of your blood pressure-         lower your cholesterol -         exercise on a regular basis 

Alzheimer’s Disease – More women then men suffer from this horrible disease. Almost 45,000 women die each year – almost twice the number of men. One reason that more women die from this disease is the fact that women generally live longer and the risk of Alzheimer’s increases with age. Some early signs and symptoms of this disease include 

-         asking the same questions repeatedly

-         difficulty remembering common words when speaking

-         mixing your words up – saying ‘bed’ instead of ‘table’

-         becoming less able to follow directions

-         becoming unable to complete familiar tasks – like following a recipe

-         getting lost while driving on familiar streets

 

Obviously if you suffer from these symptoms it doesn’t mean you have Alzheimer’s or are at a high risk. There are many other reasons like a concussion or different medications that could be the culprit. Always be sure to contact your healthcare provider.

 

Pneumonia and Influenza – More than 36,000 women have their lives taken from one of these illnesses. When combined with other chronic health conditions, these can be life threatening. Anyone with asthma, heart disease, diabetes or a condition that suppresses the immune system is at a high risk. Because both pneumonia and influenza affect the lungs, smoking will increase the danger of both. A yearly flu shot can be nearly 70 percent to 90 percent effective in preventing influenza in healthy adults. There is also the ‘pneumococcal’ vaccine that can reduce your risk of getting pneumonia by more than half.