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Eileen
Baures walks with her husband regularly as part of her heart
healthy exercise program.
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Heart disease is the No.1 killer in
Wisconsin for women; doctors urge it’s time to protect your health.
Helga Price, 74, had a family history
of heart disease, but never dreamed she had serious heart issues of
her own until last spring when she saw her doctor at the ProHealth
Care Medical Associates clinic in Menomonee Falls.
The Germantown resident had gone in
with a cold that had settled in her chest. A series of tests began
immediately, culminating in a quadruple heart bypass operation just
three days later. "The lesson is, don’t depend on chest pain as
the warning," says Price. "If you have a family history, you
might request that they check you out." Without the surgery,
Price says, "it wouldn’t have been good."
Though breast cancer and Alzheimer’s
disease may be more feared, the fact is, heart disease is the No. 1
killer of women in Wisconsin, claiming more than 5,500 lives a year.
"People are living longer, and if we intervene earlier with more
risk factor modification, we wouldn’t even have heart disease to
begin with," says Dr. Jule Wetherbee of the Wisconsin Heart
Hospital.
Women simply behave differently from
men when it comes to protecting their hearts, according to experts.
Some women claim they are too busy with family and job
responsibilities to get regular screenings, and their husbands aren’t
as likely to push the matter. And, because women outlive men, many
older women are left to manage their health on their own.
Women might even ignore a heart attack
because their symptoms aren’t the same as men’s. Most heart
attacks start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort, according to the
American Heart Association. Sometimes, symptoms go away and return.
"Women may not classically have (chest) pain or shortness of
breath," notes Gardezi. "They might have indigestion or
abdominal pain, or they may be sweating."
New Berlin’s Eileen Baures is one
woman who isn’t about to neglect her heart. "I want to retire
in a couple years," says Baures, 63, "and I want to be
healthy enough to enjoy it."
She is keenly aware of the risk women
face in terms of cardiovascular disease. She and her doctors have been
monitoring her risk factors for a couple years. Baures is on
medication to control her hypertension and blood sugar levels. She’s
taken up a walking program that not only has given her more energy, it’s
helped her lose 12 pounds, further contributing to heart health.
As recently as the 1970s, according to
Wetherbee, most people thought of heart disease as being a men’s-only
problem. While the last three decades have seen increased awareness,
Americans also have continued to grow heavier — a concern because of
the link between obesity and heart disease. "That’s the one
modifiable risk factor perhaps we’re not doing so well with,"
she adds.
Counseling women about changing their
habits is difficult, says Dr. Maryam Gardezi, who specializes in
cardiac care at the Aurora Women’s Pavilion in West Allis. "You
need supportive programs in a clinic that people can join or follow up
with to help them quit smoking or lose weight."
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