WOMEN AGAINST HEART DISEASE
Hello everyone and welcome back to the Blog and another February. Now typically in February, our thoughts gravitate to hearts, valentines and love. It’s a month in which we focus on flowers, chocolates and romance.
It’s also a month, however, when we are asked to pay attention to not just the happiness of our hearts but to the health of our hearts as well, because February is American Heart Health Month.
This year marks the 58th consecutive year the American Heart Association has strived to bring the issue of heart health to everyone, especially to women. And BETTY BOOP with FLEISCHER STUDIOS, are both so honored to be a part of this annual message.
Betty has always been a champion of justice, important causes and women’s rights. And, taking a stand against heart disease and protecting the health of women everywhere is a cause that is very near and dear to her heart. Because, heart disease is the number one health risk for women around the world.
While 1 in 13 women will die of breast cancer, 1 in every 3 will die of cardiovascular disease. And more than ninety percent of women have at least one risk factor for developing heart disease.
Now, there are two very important issues we’re going to discuss in this message.
The first is that when it comes to heart disease, women are typically under-treated and under-served. While our male counterparts are taken seriously when they complain of or exhibit symptoms associated with heart disease, women are not. Women seeking help are often sent home from the hospital and told they are only suffering from stress, anxiety or indigestion. It’s often not until much later that these women find out they actually suffered a heart attack for which they received no treatment.
The second issue we need to discuss is that women of color share the greatest risk for developing heart disease. And since February also is BLACK HISTORY MONTH, this discussion is extremely timely and important.
- To begin, cardiovascular disease kills more than 50,000 Black women each year, with stroke leading the cause of death among Black women.
- Among Black women ages 20 and older, approximately 59% already have some form of cardiovascular disease.
- Also in this age group, nearly 58% of Black women have high blood pressure, a leading cause of cardiovascular disease.
So, what can we all do to protect ourselves? We can begin by recognizing the most common symptoms of a heart attack or stroke, which include:
- Unexplained pain in the chest, neck, shoulders and upper back
- Flu-like symptoms, nausea or vomiting for no apparent reason
- Dizziness or light-headedness while sitting quietly
- Fatigue, tiredness or shortness of breath
We also need to have a few tools to work with in our daily lives in order to reduce our risk for heart attacks and strokes, which include:
- Eliminating tobacco use in all forms
- Using alcohol in moderation
- Adding more fruits and vegetables to our diet, replacing red meats with lean proteins like fish and chicken, and reducing our intake of salt
- Setting reasonable weight-loss goals with one’s primary physician
- Exercising easily for 15 to 30 minutes a day with simple stretching or walking
We can do this, Ladies! As Betty and the American Heart Association remind us every year, a little common sense and a bit of basic medical know-how will go a long way in helping us reach our goals of improving our health and protecting our beautiful hearts.
In closing, Betty and all of us at Fleischer Studios send a heart-felt THANK YOU to the American Heart Association for their tireless efforts to educate and inform us all about heart disease in its many forms.
And, I thank all of you for being here again for this important message as we focus our attention once again on HEART HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH.
Until next time everyone, stay safe, stay in GOOD HEALTH and . . .
TAKE THE COURSE AND TAKE CHARGE!
For more information please visit:
https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/american_heart_month.htm
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