My mom was 44 when she had her first heart attack. Subsequently she had 2 more and a devastating stroke that left her paralyzed on her left side. All of this occurred before she was 53 years old. My mom lost her battle with heart disease at the age of 59. Way too young. Unfortunately it’s a statistic that keeps growing yearly, especially among women. Heart disease is the #1 killer of African American women. A woman dies from heart disease just about every minute. Women are often misdiagnosed and subsequently do not receive necessary care. Being misdiagnosed is something that should not be happening in 2011. This makes it even more important for us to make sure we are doing everything possible to try and prevent heart disease before it affects us. We need to take more responsibility for our health and do whatever we can to help ourselves. The risk factors for heart disease are smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, physical inactivity, stress and being obese and overweight.
So what can you do right now? You can start by making small healthy changes in your lifestyle. I personally do not like the term diet. I think if we incorporate changes a little at a time and not “shock” yourself by cutting out everything it will be much easier. Add a piece of fruit, switch to Light Mayo, and try low fat or fat free milk. Little changes like that will make a huge difference in your health. For me losing weight has been a challenge, but the thought of having my first heart attack at 44 was enough to get me to a point where I wanted to do something about it. So far I’ve lost 18 pounds, and I’m continuing to lose. I’ve always been a bit of a jock (I know don’t faint) so being active wasn’t the problem, it was stress and my diet. Changing my diet was a lot harder than I anticipated. My family loves to eat and eating was always a comfort for me when I was stressed or upset. So changing that was and is a challenge. But I want to be around for my children so it’s worth making some sacrifices.
There are some myths about heart disease that you may not be aware of:
1) Only older men and women have heart disease.
· Heart disease does not know any age…. It can strike anyone at anytime
2) If heart disease isn’t in your family, you’re not at risk.
· A family history does increase your risk, but there’s always a first! Just because your mom or grandmother doesn’t have it does not mean you’re safe.
3) You can’t do anything to stop heart disease.
· Yes, you can!! Anyone can significantly reduce your risk of heart disease if you have the information you need, know what to ask your doctor, and have the support to make smart eating choices in your life.
We have to take control of our health and not rely on medication to “fix us” if something goes wrong!! Please take control of your health and if you can prevent heart disease, do what you can now before it’s too late.
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