Cox News Service
ATLANTA -- Keeping your heart operating like a well-oiled machine
pumping oxygen and nutrient-rich blood throughout your body hinges
on smart lifestyle choices.
"Just by doing the things we need to do can have a great
impact," says Winston Gandy, a cardiologist with Piedmont Heart
Institute.
That includes not smoking, eating a diet low in fat and
cholesterol and getting regular exercise.
The amount and location of weight are important factors, too.
Disproportionate weight around the midsection increases the risk
for diabetes and heart disease. "We see a lot of thin women who
don't exercise or eat healthy, and those women are at higher risk
of heart disease, too," says Gina Lundberg, fellow cardiologist
and director of the Heart Center for Women at St. Joseph's
Hospital.
Nearly all American women are in danger of heart disease or
stroke and should be more aggressive about lowering their risk,
according to the American Heart Association. Risk factors include
obesity, stress, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and
diabetes.
Minority women are particularly at risk for heart disease and
stroke. Nearly half of African-American women have some form of
cardiovascular disease, compared with 32 percent of white women.
If a woman develops even one of the risk factors at age 50, she
greatly increases her chance of heart disease or stroke later.
Cigarette smoking, for instance, increases the risk of serious
cardiovascular side effects from oral contraceptive use, and high
blood pressure is two to three times more common in women taking
oral contraceptives.
"Women are at greater risk and they are undertreated," says
Lundberg, referring to how women are less likely than men to
receive certain diagnostic testing and treatments, such as
angioplasties and stents, for cardiovascular diseases.
One of the most important things everyone can do is have an
annual physical exam that includes an exercise stress test to
examine how well the heart works during physical exertion. Women
older than 50 and men older than 40 should make an exercise stress
test a part of their annual physical exam.
"An EKG is not good enough," says Gandy, referring to the test
that records the heart's electrical activity. "It's like planning
an outdoor wedding in three weeks and looking out the window today.
It doesn't forecast anything."
Although the heart is very resilient, detecting coronary artery
disease or blockage before a heart attack or cardiac arrest
increases the survival rate.
"If we find it before it finds you, 99.9 percent of people come
out as good as new," says Gandy.
Vikki Conwell writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
E-mail: vconwell AT ajc.com.