Women, Risk Factors and Cardiovascular Disease

A study published in this month's Rhode Island Medical Journal, seeks answers to the question of how women are affected by heart disease and it's associated risk factors.  I found their conclusions very interesting.

The scientific consensus is that the following are risk factors for cardiovascular disease: smoking, diabetes, high cholesterol levels, activity levels, high blood pressure and obesity.  I have to say that I have read many conflicting studies concerning the numbers that are associated with what constitutes high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and even obesity, but there is little debate as to the damage that is done to our heart, lungs, other organs and blood vessels as the result of smoking and diabetes.

Correlation between mortality from heart attacks in women was associated only with low HDL-levels and high non-HDL cholesterol levels, while in men, mortality was found to be correlated with: high LDL and non-HDL levels and low HDL levels.  So, ladies, getting your HDL-2 levels up and lowering those LDL, VLDL levels will greatly reduce our risk of heart disease, our number one killer.

Triglyceride levels in women are more of an indicator for mortality from heart disease than in men.  It appears that we women are more affected by increases in TG levels, more so than cholesterol levels.

Both diabetes and smoking are more potent risk factors of mortality in women than in men...we need to cut down on the white foods and cut out the smoking as immediate preventative measures.  Men are still affected by these risk factors, but women are simply more susceptible than men.

Sedentary lifestyles and obesity are risk factors in both genders.  The latest in thinking is that we need to move and get our heart rates up...about 80% of our maximum heart rate for our age is the goal, as well as just getting up and moving more.  Decreasing our total weight by as little as 10% has been shown to be extremely beneficial to our cardiovascular system as well as our well being.

We women need to be very mindful of all of these findings as our mortality rate after a heart attack has been statistically shown to be as much as twice that of men.  When we get a heart attack, it's much more serious and we frequently die as a result.

If you'd like to read the entire 4 page article, here is the url:  http://www.rimed.org/rimedicaljournal/2014/02/2014-02-19-cvd-roberts.pdf