Press Releases
Durham Regional Hospital Health Spot- Heart Disease and Women
Feb. 13, 2008Durham, NC- February is American Heart Month, a time to look at heart disease and ways to keep your heart healthy. According to the Centers for Disease Control, although heart disease is sometimes thought of as a "man's disease," women account for 52.8 percent of the total heart disease deaths. In 2004, heart disease was the cause of death in more than 450,000 females.
There are several things women can do to prevent heart disease including reducing their weight, stopping smoking, staying away from secondhand smoke, visiting their physician annually to ensure their health numbers are in the right range, exercising regularly and eating healthy.
"Your heart is a muscle and it needs to be worked," says Elizabeth Henke, MD, cardiologist at Durham Regional Hospital and Triangle Heart Associates, PA. "Regular exercise means exercising every day for a minimum of 30 minutes. Sixty minutes is ideal. The 60 minutes doesn't have to be in the gym; it can include cleaning your home, dancing, or going for a walk. Extra things parking farther away from stores or work and taking the stairs can make a difference."
Eating healthy foods and in the proper portions are also important for your heart's health. "Everyone's diet should be high in fruit, vegetables, whole grains, fish and not too much red meat", says Henke. She recommends eggs and vegetable oils from avocados and olives. Some other recommendations are to keep saturated fats to a minimum and only consume diary products that are low in fat; reduce the use of white bread, potatoes, white pasta and white rice and avoid sodas, desserts, sweet cereals and foods with trans-fats. "Talk with your physician to see if you should include fish oils and omega 3s in your diet," says Henke. "It is never too late to adopt heart healthy habits."
There are certain figures you should pay attention to in order to know if your heart is healthy. According to Henke, "for most women, an ideal blood pressure should be 120/80 or lower, cholesterol should be under 100, waist size should be a circumference of 35 inches or less and your fasting blood sugar level should be less than 100."
American children are progressively more inactive and are gaining weight at an alarming rate. It is predicted that as a result of this trend, they will die younger than their parents primarily from cardiovascular disease.
"Women have a significant impact on their children. It is important for them to lead by example. You cannot expect a child to not smoke if their parents do. That is the same for healthy eating and exercise. Women can influence children while they are young and help their children develop healthy lifestyle habits," says Henke.
Durham Regional is pleased to present "Ladies Night Out," a free seminar series to help women stay on top of important health issues. Join us February 19 for "Heartfelt Advice for Women" presented by Elizabeth Henke, MD, of Durham Regional Hospital and Triangle Heart Associates, PA. This seminar will be held at the hospital in the First Level Classroom and begins at 7 pm. To register, visit durhamregional.org.
