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Heart disease is the leading cause of death among American men and women – claiming more than 2,400 lives every day. That's one death every 37 seconds. Even more startling than these statistics is the fact that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women – affecting you, your mom, sister, aunt, cousin, or best friend – and more deadly than all forms of cancer combined.
Saint Agnes wants women to know the truth about heart disease. The first step is to understand your personal risk factors. Make sure you know the signs and symptoms of a heart attack and how you can reduce your risk by incorporating healthy lifestyle choices into your daily routine.
What can you do to improve you heart-health?
Know the warning signs and symptoms of a heart attack
Because women are less likely to think they may be having a heart attack, they tend to ignore their symptoms and don't seek help right away. Make sure you know the "classic" warning signs of a heart attack, along with other less common signs that women often experience. Not all symptoms will occur in every heart attack, so it's important to know all of them. Visit www.samc.com/heart-attack-warning-signs to familiarize yourself.
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Understand your risk by "Knowing Your Numbers"
Your blood pressure, high LDL and HDL cholesterol and triglycerides levels are all major heart risk factors. Knowing each number can play an important role in keeping heart disease at bay. Visit www.samc.com/know-your-numbers to find out what your numbers are telling you.
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Reduce your risk with a Risk Health Assessment
Interested in finding out what your heart attack risk factors are? We can help! Visit www.samc.com/health-risk-assessments, and select Heart Attack to take a five minute heart assessment − measuring your blood pressure, LDL and HDL cholesterol, triglycerides levels. Listening to your body is key!
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Sedentary Lifestyle? Get up and active
Physical inactivity can lead to obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure – all of which greatly increase your risk of heart disease. The American Heart Association (AHA) advises at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day, five times a week. Always check with your doctor before starting a new exercise routine to determine what level of physical activity is right for you.
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Smoking ... Why quitting matters
Smoking is a significant risk factor for many serious conditions, including heart disease. A smoker's risk of heart disease is twice that of a nonsmoker. Secondhand smoke even raises your risk. If quitting is on your heart-healthy to-do list, Saint Agnes offers a seven-week program – American Lung Association Freedom from Smoking® Program – led by a trained tobacco treatment specialist. For dates and costs, click here.
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Heart-healthy cooking at home
Heart-health routines start and finish at home. It's one thing to understand the basics of what healthy cooking means, but it's quite another to put each plan in action. To help start you on the road to success, Saint Agnes offers The Health eCooking Show – featuring hundreds of easy, heart-healthy, diabetic and gluten free recipes. By combining health content from registered dietitians with entertaining cooking videos and tutorials, you're sure to have plenty to choose from.
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Stay connected to heart health
We all know life is hectic. So much so, that keeping our own health in check sometimes gets put on the back burner. That's one of the reasons Saint Agnes offers its online Health News Sign-ups – keeping you informed with the latest health news, health education and Saint Agnes Medical Center classes and events.
Heart Survivor Stories – Read their personal experiences
Below are seven powerful stories from some of our own heart patients who have battled heart disease and won! A special thanks to each of these courageous women for sharing their story and inspiring other women to take charge of their health. To read a story, simply click on their photo.
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