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NONPROFIT

Ten Years

The old adage that “nothing that accompany it. By regu-
is constant but change” applies larly having this conversa-
where this is entirely true isRed Encourage your patients to:
to healthcare perhaps more
tion, the goal is to push them
than any other field. It can be
from awareness to action.
staggering when we look back
over long periods of time and
see the strides we have made in
• Know the warning signs
the diagnosis, treatment op-
of a heart attack and
tions and outcomes for a vari-
stroke
ety of diseases. To dive a bit
• Know how to respond to
a heart attack and stroke
deeper, one area of medicine
when addressing the needs of • Know their numbers
(blood pressure, choles-
By Jennifer Milikien
women and heart disease. terol, glucose, BMI)
This year marks the 10th anniversary of summarized her study of the state of • Stop smoking
the introduction of the American Heart women’s heart health in her presentation, • Get regular physical activity
Association and American Stroke Associ- “We’ve Come a Long Way Baby But We • Manage their weight
ation’s Go Red For Women movement. Aren’t There Yet!” The study concluded • Consume a healthy, balanced and
Go Red For Women was created to spread that while rates of awareness have doubled low-sodium diet
the message from women to women that since 1997, a gap persists for those at • Reduce stress
heart disease is killing our mothers, highest risk and more education still is • Get plenty of rest
daughters, sisters and friends…but that needed regarding symptoms. Further, bar-
with awareness and early intervention the riers to calling 9-1-1 when experiencing a We know from experience that helping
results can be drastically improved. heart attack or stroke must be explored women to identify and define their risk
Just 30 short years ago Coronary Heart further, and confusion in the media re- status, coupled with encouragement and
Disease (CHD) was viewed as a middle- mains around evidence-based approaches improvement of adherence to a preventive
aged male problem. Most research and re- to prevention. Additional findings from and healthy lifestyle is the best way to
sources were devoted to the study of the presentation include: lower cardiovascular disease in women.
coronary disease in men, which con- • Awareness rates among black and His- “This is a missed opportunity,” Mosca
tributed to much less being known about panic women remain well below that said at the conference. “Habits established
CHD in women. of white women. in younger women can have lifelong re-
A study was conducted in 1997 asking • Among age groups, women 25-34 wards. We need to speak to the new gen-
women what their perceived leading cause years had the lowest rate of awareness eration and help them understand that
of death was at that time. Only 30% of at 44 percent. living heart healthy is going to help them
those surveyed believed it to be heart dis- • Culturally- and generationally-rele- feel better, not just help them live longer.
ease. The other 70% thought cancer or vant messages on lifestyle and preven- So often the message is focused on how
“other” was the biggest threat to their tion strategies are needed. many women are dying from heart dis-
health. In actuality, heart disease eclipses • Barriers and motivators to engage in ease, but we need to be talking about how
the next three leading causes of death a heart-healthy lifestyle are different women are going to live — and live
combined, including all forms of cancer. for younger women, who also said healthier.”
At the American Heart Association and their doctors were less likely to talk to In August-October 2012, researchers
American Stroke Association’s 2013 Sci- them about heart disease. conducted online and telephone surveys
entific Sessions held this past November As healthcare providers it is incumbent (funded by the National Institutes of
in Dallas, Dr. Lori Mosca, director of pre- upon you to discuss the risk factors of Health) with more than 1,200 women,
ventive cardiology at New York-Presbyter- CHD with your patients and help them 25 and older. They compared results from
ian Hospital and professor of medicine at understand the best ways to avoid heart surveys taken in 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006
Columbia University Medical Center, disease and the litany of co-morbidities and 2009. The survey assessed women’s

24 San Antonio Medicine • February 2014