Several years ago, a colleague in her mid-50s came to me wondering what I would suggest for her frequent heartburn. I suggested she talk with her doctor about it, which she did. The next week, she had double bypass surgery. What she was experiencing was angina (heart pain), which was mistaken for heartburn.

In America, 37.6 million women have heart disease. It is the number one killer of women in our country. Typical symptoms of a heart attack include crushing chest painra diating down the arm, difficulty breathing and nausea. However, in women the signsare more subtle and sometimes ignored. Although recognizing signs of a heart attack are critical, preventing heart disease is themost important step we can take. What can we do as women to protect ourselves against heart disease?

First, it is important to be aware of risk factors for heart disease. These include gender, age, and family history. Men over45, women after menopause, and those with

relatives with heart disease are at increased risk. Risk factors such as smoking, excess weight, lack of exercise and stressful lifestyle are affected our lifestyles. These risks can be reduced.

Women who smoke are four times more likely to die of heart disease and nine times more likely if they started before age 15.This risk is greatly reduced by quitting smoking. Diabetes is a heart disease risk factor, but the risk is lowered with proper diabetes control. Risk of heart disease goes up proportionately as blood pressure rises and cholesterol increases. Excess weight increases your risk of high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. Women with a waist measuring more than 35 inches are at increased risk of a heart attack.

Healthy diets should be low in fat, have plenty of fiber, at least five servings off ruits and vegetables a day, include 1500mg of calcium a day and Omega 3 rich foods at least twice a week.

The American Heart Association suggests that everyone engage in thirty minutes of moderate activity daily. This activity can be broken up into a couple sessions, with three sessions of ten minutes providing almost as much benefit as thirty continuous minutes. Individuals should check with their health care professional to make sure they are healthy enough to engage in an exercise program.

One way to exercise - walk. The Women's Health Coalition has developed a program for walking, with walking maps available of Coos Bay and North Bend. Walking is a great way to exercise, requiring no specialized equipment and allowing a gradually increasing level of activity.
Audrey Duke
Family Nurse Practitioner
North Bend Medical Center
Member of the Coos County
Women's Health Coalition