Each year, Go Red for Women sponsors a National Wear Red Day to raise awareness of heart health and overall wellness; this year’s Wear Red day is Friday Feb. 7.
Heart health is important for everyone. The American Heart Association’s “Life’s Simple 7” focuses on lifestyle changes. It is particularly important for women as modest changes in lifestyle can lower risk by as much as 80%. Quit tobacco if you are a smoker or e-cigarette user. We can all improve on what we eat and how much salt we consume. For 50% of Americans with high blood pressure, the guidelines set out in the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension recommends eating only foods low in salt, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, beans, lentils, and whole grains. Total salt intake should be less than 2 grams, or 2,000 mg, per day. Many of us consume over twice that amount.
As a nation, the risks for heart disease have declined over the past 50 years. Reductions are due to a decline in cigarette smoking and increased attention to high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
However, one risk factor remains a significant problem: obesity. Even at young ages, obesity carries the increased risk of developing diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure that blunts many of the benefits we’ve accrued over the last generation.
Furthermore, pregnancy-related complications — such as pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, and gestational high blood pressure — also increase women’s risk for heart disease later in life.
Women are less likely than men to receive certain diagnostic testing and treatments. At an early presentation of heart disease, women tend to experience more exertional fatigue as opposed to the classic chest pain that men experience. About one out of every two men will develop a heart event in their remaining lifetime. For women it is slightly less (one out of every three), yet this accounts for thousands of mothers and sisters who are still dying prematurely of heart disease and stroke.
The fact remains that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, and stroke is No. 3.
The HEART for Women Act, or Heart disease Education, Analysis, Research, and Treatment for Women Act, was introduced by a bipartisan group of women lawmakers in 2006 and was passed by Congress in 2008. More recently, the Affordable Care Act included provisions prohibiting insurance companies from charging women higher premiums than their male counterparts. It also required Medicare and most private health plans to cover preventive services for women.
By creating more equitable care, we can address the unique risk factors for heart disease that vary by sex, ethnicity, race, and socioeconomic status.
In one decade since the HEART for Women Act was passed, 627,000 women’s lives have been saved, 330 fewer women are dying every day, 15% fewer women are smoking cigarettes, 18% of women have seen improvement in their cholesterol levels, and 25% more women get the exercise they need.
While we’ve learned much about women’s heart disease in the past century, much of the research today is looking into precision medicine and identifying causal genes, proteins, and pathways that contribute to heart disease and stroke.
The All of Us research program (JoinAllofUs.org/Essentia) is one initiative from the National Institutes of Health that we can all participate in to improve our knowledge. With this program, we hope to better identify high-risk individuals long before they have their first event, understand the impact of heart-healthy lifestyles on disease, and identify new therapeutic targets for drugs to reduce the risk of disease.
Want to make a difference? Wear red (a red dress, pants, hat, tie, scarf or even socks) on Friday and make a bold statement and help save a life. Organize a group walk or other physical activity at your workplace on Wear Red Day. Lastly, be sure to get your numbers checked — blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar — by your primary-care doctor and know your risk before you become another number.
Dr. Catherine Benziger is a cardiologist in Duluth and a fellow of the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology. Follow the American Heart Association and Go Red for Women on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Learn more at goredforwomen.org. And use #WearRedAndGive to share photos and help raise awareness of heart disease.
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February 05, 2020 at 04:00AM
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Local View Column: Wear red Friday for women's heart health - Duluth News Tribune
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