REDUCING HEART DISEASE RISK FACTORS IN WOMEN
Lisa James found herself turning 40 and facing a personal epiphany—she wasn’t healthy. James’ father experienced a heart attack when he was her age, followed by two strokes. And, her mother suffers from heart disease. James, of Richwood, Ohio, herself has high blood pressure and a body mass index (BMI) of 36, which is considered obese. With two children, James recognized that the time to change her lifestyle was now.
“I want to break the cycle. I don’t want my son and daughter to grow up with heart disease,” says James. “Hopefully, what I learn I can pass on to them while they are still young and prevent a lot of their future ailments.”
According to Laxmi Mehta, MD, FACC, director of Ohio State’s Women’s Cardiovascular Health Clinic, James is unique in her recognition of the risk factors for heart disease and the importance of taking action. “There are still quite a few women out there who do not realize that cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women,” says Dr. Mehta. “Women really need to take their own heart health seriously. It is having an impact on our bodies much earlier than we ever believed.”
The American Heart Association reports that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women, responsible for the death of one in three women worldwide. “Cardiovascular disease should be dear to every woman’s heart because nearly one in two of us will develop it at some point in our lives,” says Dr. Mehta. “It is a process that starts from a very young age, but 80 percent of it is preventable. We need to step up to the plate and change our own health.
“The number one preventable risk factor is always smoking,” says Dr. Mehta.
Jennifer Dickerson, MD, with OSU Heart Center at Gahanna, agrees. “Young women need to understand that they are clearly not immune to heart disease. The things they do today serve as a foundation for the rest of their lives—tobacco use, a bad diet and a lack of exercise will hurt them later in life.”
James is tackling those preventable risks one at a time, exercising twice a week with her sister, taking more time for herself and eating healthier foods, with the goal of reducing her lipid levels and blood pressure while losing weight.
“Seeing a nutritionist was the first step in changing my lifestyle,” she says. “My family was caught in a rut, ordering dinner out every night. Now I take pleasure in deciding what I’m going to fix. My husband helps me cut vegetables and we have time to talk. That is a pleasure!” |