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Community Info Health News
 How To Reach Us: St. Louis Front Page Community News P.O. Box 1354 St. Louis, MO 63188 http://www.slfp.com Voice: 314-771-0200 Fax: 314-771-0300 To submit news, contact: editor@slfp.com  |
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ST. LOUIS, (Newstream), May 8, 2003 - VHA Inc., a national cooperative of more than 2,200 not-for-profit health care organizations, has announced its Mother's Day initiative for the Women's HeartAdvantage campaign in an effort to educate women about their No. 1 killer, heart disease. In recognition of mothers and women everywhere, more than 100 VHA-member hospitals have undertaken a campaign to raise awareness among women and health care professionals on the risks of heart disease, Women's HeartAdvantage. "With Mother's Day quickly approaching, what better gift can mothers receive than a longer, healthier life?" stated Dr. Noel Bairey-Merz, Women's HeartAdvantage national spokesperson and cardiologist from Cedars-Sinai Health System in Los Angeles. "Kids - take this day to encourage your mom to take care of herself. Ask her to check out the warnings signs for heart disease, learn about how the symptoms differ for women and make sure that Mom has a healthy lifestyle through her diet and exercise!" Consumers and some physicians are surprised to learn that cardiovascular health is the biggest health care issue affecting American women. But the grim statistics are staggering: Cardiovascular diseases claim the lives of more than 500,000 women in the U.S. annually, striking more women than the next seven causes of death combined-and almost twice as many as all forms of cancer; One in two women will die of heart disease or stroke, compared with one in 30 who will die of breast cancer; More women than men have died of cardiovascular disease in every year since 1984, and the mortality rate within one year of having a heart attack is greater for women than it is for men. VHA conducted market research to determine the awareness level among women of heart disease. "Our research revealed a real 'disconnect' for women and their risk of heart disease," said Dr. Bairey-Merz. "Many of the women surveyed have risk factors such as high cholesterol and obesity, but don't recognize the link those risk factors have to heart disease." The disconnect between perception and reality makes heart disease in women perhaps the most misunderstood and dangerous health risk in America. Although more than 50 percent of women will die from heart disease, only 30 percent fear it as their leading cause of death; whereas, about 50 percent of women fear dying from breast cancer, even though only 4 percent will die from the disease. A primary challenge of the Women's HeartAdvantage campaign is to demonstrate that while women and men share many of the same risk factors and symptoms of cardiovascular disease, there are gender differences to consider. For example, smoking, high blood pressure and elevated blood cholesterol levels are among the most prevalent and preventable risk factors for men and women. However, post-menopausal women must be more vigilant about certain risk factors, as the loss of estrogen makes it more difficult for the female body to control blood pressure and the balance of "bad" cholesterol versus "good" cholesterol. Also of note, men and women experience different symptoms of a heart attack. Men exhibit "classic" symptoms - a.k.a. the "Hollywood Heart Attack" - such as chest pain, shortness of breath, sweating and a sharp pain in the left arm. Women may also experience indigestion, nausea, dizziness and a pain in the shoulder blade area, symptoms frequently excused for less life threatening conditions. The greatest disparity is the easiest to resolve: women must pay at least as much attention as men to heart health. Mothers must talk with their physicians about heart disease and its warning signs, understand it is their No. 1 health risk and be aware that a woman's symptoms are often different from those of a man. 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Think Sparklers Are Safe? Think Again, Says SLUCare Opthalmologist Four-day Local Pollen Forecast Desktop Tool Helps Allergy Suffers Electronic Meal and Health Management Tool  The SLFP.com - Community Info is presented in conjunction with the St. Louis Front Page and Southwest Illinois News. The sites are owned and maintained by the Moore Design Group for the sole purpose of disseminating news and information about the Metropolitan St. Louis area. Text or graphics may not be copied, rewritten or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission. For more information, contact editor@slfp.com All rights reserved world wide © 1996 - 2008 Moore Design Group . |
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