"While some heart attacks are sudden and intense, many start slowly with minimal pain and discomfort."
Geralyn Karpiscak, R.N., Coordinator, Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, University Medical Center at Princeton
By: Lorraine Seabrook with Geralyn Karpiscak, R.N.
February is a month for romance, a welcome break in the depth of winter. While selecting the perfect Valentine for a loved one, take a moment to consider the real organ credited with those loving feelings.
According to the American Heart Association Statistics Update, coronary heart disease and stroke remain the number one and number three killers of Americans.
Although heart disease is commonly associated with middle-age men, heart disease has killed more women than men every year since 1984. Heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases account for one of out every 2.4 women’s deaths, and for the last twenty years, these diseases have claimed the lives of more women than men.
One in every five women has some form of cardiovascular disease. Heart disease rates in post-menopausal women are two to three times those of women the same age before menopause. Women with diabetes have two to four times the risk of death from heart disease and stroke than women without diabetes. African American and Mexican American women have higher heart disease and stroke risk than their Caucasian sisters.
After considering these facts and statistics, vow to become heart smart.
The AHA offers five tips to better heart health:
1. Select a date and each year on that date, schedule an appointment with your physician to check your blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose and weight.
2. Quit smoking. Each day, try halving the number of cigarettes you had the day before. When you reach one, know that the next day is your Quit Day. Celebrate and stick with your new habit to be smoke-free.
3. Work up to about 30 minutes of physical activity every day.
4. Lose the extra weight by cutting back on your caloric intake and exercising.
5. Reward each and every success so as to stay motivated.
It is important to know the heart attack warning signs. While some heart attacks are sudden and intense, many start slowly with minimal pain and discomfort. Research by the National Institutes of Health indicate that women’s symptoms often are not as predictable as men’s prior to and during a heart attack. Major symptoms that women report having up to one month or longer prior to their heart attack include:
Unusual fatigue;
Sleep disturbance;
Shortness of breath;
Indigestion, and
Anxiety.
Women’s major symptoms during a heart attack may include:
Shortness of breath;
Weakness;
Sudden extreme fatigue;
Cold sweat, and
Dizziness.
These symptoms may also coincide with those that are better known, including:
Pain, pressure, fullness, discomfort or squeezing in the center of the chest;
Stabbing chest pain;
Radiating pain to shoulder(s), neck, back, arm(s) or jaw;
Pounding heartbeats (palpitations) or feeling extra heartbeats, and
Nausea, vomiting or severe indigestion.
If you or someone you are with experiences these symptoms, do not wait longer than 5 minutes before calling 9-1-1 and getting to the nearest hospital.
In celebration of Heart Month, there are many area events you can attend.
The Office on Women’s Health and The Department of Health and Senior Services are helping to fund The Women’s Heart Foundation’s state campaign to support outreach activities during Women’s Heart Week (Feb. 1-7).
On Sunday, Governor and Mrs. James E. McGreevey will join Princeton HealthCare System and other area health professionals at Wegmans in Nassau Park from noon to 4 p.m. While there, you can have a body fat analysis, blood pressure screenings, risk assessment screenings, weight management instruction, and enjoy a chair massage.
On Wednesday, Wild Oats Market in Princeton will offer two hour-long tours of the store, at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m., to point out the health opportunities, and a PHCS professional will help with nutrition label information.
On Thursday, PHCS is offering a "lunch and learn" with Dr. Banu Mahalingam on the topic, "Women and Heart Disease." This free program will be held at the main University Medical Center at Princeton (UMCP) campus in Ground Floor Conference Room B from noon to 2 p.m. Pre-registration is required; call Community Education at (609) 497-4480.
On Feb. 10, PHCS, through Dorot’s "University without Walls," is offering a low-cost educational program, "Keys to a Healthy Heart," via the telephone from 11 a.m. to noon. Call (212) 769-2850 for more information or to register.
On Feb. 18, from 6 to 8 p.m., former UMCP cardiac rehab participants are invited to UMCP’s main campus, Ground Floor Conference Room A & B, for a heart-healthy pot luck supper to celebrate successes and share in a heart-healthy meal. Pre-registration is required; call (609) 497-4285 to register. Also on Feb. 18 the public can come to the main UMCP campus lobby throughout the day (9 a.m.-3 p.m.) for free blood pressure screenings and information.
McCaffrey’s is hosting a Heart Smart Shopping Series. Participants meet at the cafe where a registered dietician will review things to consider when shopping with your heart in mind. The Princeton location program is scheduled on Feb. 24 from 7 to 8 p.m.. The West Windsor location program is scheduled on Feb. 26 from 2 to 3 p.m. Call (609) 497-4480 for more information.
Celebrate Heart Month and yourself by taking care of your heart.