Heart disease Heart attacks are the leading cause of death for women in the United States, killing more than 300,000 people each year, yet only about half of women are aware of the risks, signs, and symptoms of a heart attack.
On National Wear Red Day, which is celebrated on Feb. 2 to raise awareness of cardiovascular disease, CBS News Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. John LaPook joins “CBS Morning” to talk about what women should know. We shared what we should do.
Although mortality rates have decreased over the past 20 years, too many people still die from heart disease, LaPook said.
“It’s a dangerous misconception that heart disease is somehow only a male disease,” he says. “This is the number one cause of death for women. There’s a reason we’re wearing red today. It’s to bring attention to this. Attention and understanding save lives.” Because it leads to that.”
signs of heart attack in women
For women, LaPook says the most common symptoms of a heart attack are:
- chest pain
- shortness of breath
However, atypical symptoms may occur, such as:
- nausea
- vomiting
- Malaise
- Pain in the jaw, back, and other areas
heart disease risk factors
There are several risk factors for heart disease, including:
- high blood pressure
- Diabetes
- high cholesterol
- obesity
- inactive
“Access to care is another issue,” LaPook added. “You have to be able to actually see a doctor.”
He also begs, “Please stop smoking!” “One of the big reasons for the decline is fewer smokers,” he points out.
Are there tests for heart disease?
Understand numerical values such as weight at an early stage blood pressure And more, it’s the best way to monitor your heart health.
“It’s not like you wait until you have symptoms and then say, ‘Okay, now I’m going to get serious.’ This should last a lifetime. So it’s important to develop healthy habits from birth. I want to keep it,” says LaPook. That includes maintaining a healthy weight and knowing your “numbers.”
“High blood pressure is often silent, so you’ll want to know your numbers. You’ll want to make sure you don’t have diabetes and that you don’t have a problem with your lipids.”
heart health and pregnancy
Pregnancy is a “huge stress test,” LaPook says. Just as you wouldn’t start training the day before running a marathon, he explains, you want to approach your pregnancy with good overall health.
“Part of that includes knowing your numbers and accessing care to make sure you’re at the right weight,” he says. he also growing concern for black womanperson facing increased mortality rate pregnant.
“While this problem has been addressed, it has been sporadic and poorly improved, and the reasons are multifactorial and social determinants of health,” LaPook said. “Without good housing, good food, access to care, and on top of that, of course, we know there’s implicit bias, all of those things combine to increase mortality rates for black women. is.”
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