Have you heard about Go Red for Women launching this month by the American Heart Association but have no idea what it’s all about? You’ve landed on the right page. I’m here to tell you all about it and hopefully you will learn something from this campaign.
Let’s face it – it is 2024 and we are so invested in our health, wellness, supplements, you name it. But sometimes we don’t know who to trust for advice. Everyone wants to sell you something that will make you feel better, make your skin look better, or help you live longer… but I think there is something to be said about starting with the basics. What the American Heart Association prioritizes in their campaign is very simple. It can be accomplished with a little self-discipline (ok maybe a lot of it) and a single visit to your doctor. But mostly I write this to empower you, make sure you have a solid understanding and you are not just relying on your health care providers.
As a health care provider myself, I work in the field of Cardiology (my full-time day job), so I have learned many of these concepts for years in school, on the job, through my readings from the published literature. I am going to right off the bat say that this is not a sponsored blog post. But if you do have the means, you can make a donation to the American Heart Association.
This blog post is all about Go Red for Women, the campaign launched by the American Heart Association since 2004.
LET’S TALK NUMBERS & FACTS
- Cardiovascular disease is the #1 killer of women, even though women think it’s probably breast cancer, it is not.
- 45% of women ages 20+ live with some form of cardiovascular disease
- There are many diseases that women are predisposed to during pregnancy and menopause, that are more unique to them and their bodies
These facts are from the American Heart Association.
WHAT IS GO RED FOR WOMEN?
The American Heart Association (AHA), is the largest and oldest cardiovascular organization that is heavily invested in studying many aspects of heart health and stroke, including CPR and heart attacks, amongst many others.
This year, the AHA declared February 2nd, 2024 the National Wear Red Day to bring awareness and fundraising for research in the prevention and treatment of women with cardiovascular disease. This date changes, but it is usually the first Friday of the month of February. So, I thought I’d dedicate this post to talk about cardiovascular health for women.
Women, especially those who work in healthcare settings, wear red on this day. There are events that happen at hospitals where health care professionals screen and help raise awareness about heart health for anyone! Some hospitals check your vital signs, others check your cholesterol panel… So, it’s a great way to learn more about your health and risks.
UNDERREPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN RESEARCH
As we talk about heart health in women, I can’t help but mention that women have been historically underrepresented in research. That is why our knowledge about women and cardiovascular health is not up to par with men. Although we comprise half of the population, we are often still regarded as a minority. The way women present at the time of heart attacks and other diseases, can be very different compared to men, so you can piece together the consequences of not picking up on the earliest symptoms, delaying care, etc. Another great example is our response to medications, which may not be the same, so it is so important for us to be part of those studies.
It is entirely up to you, but participating in research can be helpful to you and other women. It is important to spend some time understanding what the research is when the opportunity presents itself. You can always call a friend or family member who works in health care if you need a second opinion before enrolling. Now, back to our topic.
HOW DO YOU G-O-R-E-D FOR WOMEN?
#1 GET YOUR NUMBERS
There are at least two pieces of information related to your heart health you need to know.
One is your Blood Pressure. If you have never had your blood pressure taken there is a top number, a bottom number and a mean, and it is measured in mmHg. For example: 120/60 (80) mmHg. The top number should be <130 and the bottom <80 mmHg. The mean number is just a byproduct of the two. Hypertension (meaning high blood pressure) is referred to as the silent killer because it has no symptoms until you develop complications of very high blood pressure such as a stroke.
Your Cholesterol is just as important to know. What is your total cholesterol? What is your LDL (bad cholesterol)? What is your HDL (good cholesterol)? And what are your triglycerides (highly impacted by glucose (sugar) metabolism)? You may have more than one number outside of the range or (hopefully) all are normal.
There are more than these standard molecules that can be tested depending on your family history and cholesterol levels. Although it is becoming more and more common to test them at least once in a lifetime for everyone, the Apolipoprotein B (aka Apo B) and Lipoprotein (a) (aka ‘Lp little a’). These have been linked to early onset cardiovascular disease. There are special ways to address these if they are elevated.
#2 OWN YOUR LIFESTYLE
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STOP SMOKING
While we have made tremendous progress in this area, there continues to be a trend in smoking cigarettes and e-cigarettes especially in teenagers. Smoking increases your chances of developing a heart attack, stroke, amongst other diseases such as cancer. Please do your very best to quit smoking.
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LOSE WEIGHT
This is self-explanatory. For a variety of reasons weight loss is beneficial for your health, such as your heart muscle (the walls of your heart) and its coronaries (the vessels). But also, because you can lower your chances of developing diabetes, a precursor of almost all cardiovascular events, no matter how tightly controlled. I don’t think people realize this.
Once you are diagnosed with diabetes, it can cause endothelial damage (the inner most layer of your arteries) and cause plaque formation. So, prevention is really best. You can use your BMI as a guide, however we know that the BMI chart is not as helpful and accurate amongst African Americans. You can work with a dietician or enroll in any program online or in person to help you stay on track. There are many of them these days.
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EXERCISE
There is no amount of medication or diet that can offset the benefits of exercising and exercising regularly on many levels (blood pressure, cholesterol, stress levels…). Find something you enjoy doing and do it regularly. The AHA recommends at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic activity, in addition to muscle strengthening activities. The hardest part is finding something you love doing, otherwise you won’t stick to it.
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EAT HEALTHY
The usual advice you’ve heard all your life about minimizing red meat and animal fat, increasing your intake of legumes, fruits and vegetables. Minimizing processed food, salt, sugar sweetened or artificially sweetened food and beverages. You know, all the yummy things. But your palate will adjust and once it does, you won’t miss the processed food or the taste of too much salt. It is hard to get there, but people have been able to. Try finding 5-10 recipes of healthy food that you love, learn how to make those, it’s an excellent start.
#3 REALIZE YOUR RISK
I’m going to go a bit further than saying learn your numbers and consider your overall risk. You can use the 10-year risk calculator adopted by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) another great society. Once you have all your numbers you can put them in and calculate your 10-year risk. It will give you a percentage: Low-risk is <5%, Borderline risk is 5-7.4%, Intermediate risk is 7.5-19.9%, and high risk is ≥20%. I am sharing this with you to empower you and ask you to get involved in knowing your risk. Don’t be alarmed by the number, it is telling you your risk in 10 years if you change absolutely nothing. Key word is – if you do absolutely nothing. This is very important to understand, instead of going into panic mode. Hopefully you take this test and discuss it with your primary care doctor. The test is validated for those between the ages of 40-75.
#4 EDUCATE YOUR FAMILY
Share with them healthy eating habits and the importance of exercising. Those two will probably have the greatest impact on their health on the long run.
#5 DON’T BE SILENT
Tell your female friends that heart disease is still the #1 killer for women. Share with them all that you know about heart health, or better yet send them the link to this blog post!
While I love talking about this topic. I am not your provider and I do not know the specifics of your health. So, the first step is to discuss ideas with your doctor who knows you best to see how some of these interventions can help you. Please take care of yourself.
This is all that I wanted to share about Go Red for Women by the American Heart Association. Wishing you a happy and healthy heart in this life.
As always, thank you so much for stopping by and reading.
See you next week,
Girl on the Upper East Side
If you enjoyed reading this, you might enjoy reading about New Year Resolutions.
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