Yes, it’s true. I am often surprised to find that many women are not aware that heart disease is the number one killer of women. In fact, according to the American Heart Association (AHA), one in three women die from heart disease. Many people believe that breast cancer is the leading cause of death among women, mainly because of the attention dedicated to breast cancer awareness.
But now, the American Heart Association has created its own national awareness campaign called Go Red For Women. It offers a number of resources to help women understand heart health concerns and how to prevent heart disease. And February is American Heart Month, a national initiative to prevent one million heart attacks through awareness campaigns.
The AHA has also launched an online study called Health eHeart, which is anonymous and free. It is designed to understand the heart health history, lifestyle, eating and exercise patterns of women. By creating a large data pool, physicians and scientists will have better information to develop new strategies to prevent and treat heart disease. Participating in Health eHeart is easy, as most online surveys take only five minutes per segment. For more information about Health eHeart, visit the AHA website at www.heart.org.
Here are some concerning statistics from The American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee:
- 42.9 million women are currently living with some form of cardiovascular disease.
- More than 2.6 million women have a history of heart attack.
- 33.2 percent of women do not engage in leisure-time physical activity.
- 60.2 percent of Caucasian women, 79.9 percent of African-American women, and 78.2 percent of Hispanic-American women are overweight or obese.
- Among Mexican-American women, 30.7 percent have cardiovascular disease.
- Among African-American women, 48.9 percent have cardiovascular disease.
Another health concern for women is the connection between sleep apnea, heart attack and stokes. One in three people over the age of 55 have sleep apnea. An alarming statistic underscores that 90 percent of women with apnea are undiagnosed. Women who are pregnant are also at risk of having sleep apnea.
What is apnea? While sleeping, muscles that control the upper airway relax. However, if the muscles are too relaxed, the narrowing of the air passage is more significant and may become blocked, causing one to stop breathing for 10 seconds or more. This pattern can be repeated more than 100 times throughout the night, significantly dropping oxygen levels and placing undue stress on the heart and brain. This condition is called Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). If left untreated, apnea increases the risk of uncontrolled blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms and the risk of heart attack (up to 300 percent) and stroke (up to 150 percent). Clinical studies have determined that 76 percent patients with heart failure have sleep apnea.
There are many symptoms associated with apnea. Although too many to mention here, common symptoms include excessive fatigue, loud snoring, morning headaches, weight problems, irritability, frequent nighttime urination and irregular breathing during sleep.
People who are overweight, those with type-two diabetes and over the age 55 are considered high-risk candidates for sleep apnea. To learn more about symptoms or heart-related health concerns, visit our website at www.azcardiacsleep.com or call our office at 928-441-1117.
Sleep apnea can be life threatening. Nearly 40,000 premature deaths in America are attributed to untreated sleep apnea. Don’t become a statistic. Please talk to your physician about sleep apnea or call our office to determine if you are a candidate for a cardiac-based sleep apnea study. Cardiac-based studies are more inclusive than normal sleep studies (they include heart-health screenings) and are covered by Medicare and most insurance plans.
As a FREE service of Arizona Cardiac Sleep Facility, you can complete the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, a simple, one-page initial screening tool that would suggest if a sleep study is needed. To take advantage of this free screening, call our office Monday through Friday.
As always, I wish you good health! QCBN
By Stephen Stuart, M.D.
Stephen Stuart, M.D., is board-certified in Sleep & Cardiovascular Medicine, He is the Medical Director of the Arizona Cardiac Sleep Facility, located at 804 Ainsworth Dr. in Prescott. For more information, call 928-441-1117 or visit www.azcardiacsleep.com.
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