 |
| Lifestyle | Business | Careers | Finance | Travel | Motoring | Property | Health | WE Top Websites | Parenting | Regulars | Contact Us | Shopping |
|
Risk Factors Smoking Around 25% of British women smoke and around 6,000 women die each year from coronary heart disease that’s been brought on by smoking2. Passive smoking also increases the risk of coronary heart disease so you should make sure you live and work in a smoke-free environment as far as possible. High blood pressure Healthy Blood Pressure is : 140/90 In most cases of high blood pressure the cause is unknown. You may be more likely to get high blood pressure if it runs in your family, but also if you have an inactive lifestyle, if you are overweight or obese, drink too much alcohol, or eat too much salt in your food. Kidney disease can also give you high blood pressure and you can get it if your adrenal glands are producing too many hormones – although this is a rare condition. Certain drugs can cause high blood pressure too. Things you can do to help bring down your blood pressure: • lose weight • moderate your drinking habits • cut excess salt out of your diet • exercise. Regular aerobic exercise like walking and swimming can help lower blood pressure in women. High Cholesterol In people with coronary heart disease already it should be less than 4m/mol. (LDL less than 2mmol, HDL above 1) There is no target figure for those who do not have coronary heart disease it is important to aim to get it as low as possible to reduce your risk Cholesterol is a fatty substance that belongs to a group called lipids. They are essential for our body’s cells to function. Cholesterol helps our glands make hormones, but its biggest role in the body is in making cell walls. Your liver makes the cholesterol your body needs by converting saturated fat from your food into cholesterol. If you eat too much saturated fat you can end up with higher blood cholesterol levels than you need. How do they Measure Cholesterol Levels? You often hear reports of good and bad cholesterol; the bad one is more harmful whereas the good one is protective. The harmful cholesterol is known as low density lipoprotein (LDL). A lipoprotein is a combination of fat and protein. Cholesterol and other fats do not dissolve in the blood. Fats are transported with these proteins around the body. LDL carries the harmful cholesterol to your arteries where it can build up increasing the risk of narrowing of the arteries (coronary arteries). If these become too narrow the flow of blood to the heart muscle can be affected and so lead to angina. The high density lipoproteins (HDL) are the protective ones. HDL tends to pick up excess cholesterol, takes it away from the arteries and brings it back to the liver for removal so your levels of HDL and LDL are affected by the fat in your diet. Saturated fats come mainly from animal fats and dairy produce, and are more harmful fats and so tend to raise your LDL level. Unsaturated fats can be found in two forms – monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. These can be found in olive oil, sunflower oil, fish oils and nuts. Monounsaturated fats help to keep LDL cholesterol lower and HDL at the same level. Polyunsaturated fats help to lower both LDL and HDL cholesterol. When you go to your doctor for a cholesterol check the Doctor will talk about a ‘lipid profile’. This is a check on your levels of cholesterol and triglyceride, which is another fatty substance in the blood. Triglycerides are made by the body. If you have a high level of triglycerides and LDL’s you are at a much greater risk of developing coronary heart disease. If you are overweight, have diabetes or are a heavy drinker, you may also have raised triglycerides. Diabetes A fasting blood sugar of above 6.1m/mol requires further investigation. Women with Type 2 diabetes are between three to five times more likely to develop coronary heart disease than those who are not diabetic.3 Diabetes increases the risk of a heart attack even more than if you smoke or have high blood pressure. The incidence of diabetes is increasing. Your weight FACT: A third of British women are overweight and a further 23% are ‘obese’.4 By being over weight you run the risk of putting a strain on your heart, developing diabetes, which can lead to coronary heart disease. You are also more likely to have higher blood cholesterol levels and raised blood pressure. Your shape is important too if you are pear shape you are likely to carry excess weight on your hips. However, if your excess weight is concentrated around your waist, then you are more likely to get coronary heart disease. European women with a waist measurement over 32inch carry increased risk of coronary heart disease while a waist over 35 inches carries a higher risk. However South East Asian women with a waist measurement over 32 inch are high risk. If you are looking to lose weight, you should aim to lose a steady 1-2lb (1kg) a week, filling up on lots of fruit and vegetables, opting for lean meat, fish, low-fat products and grilled foods instead of fried foods. You need to cut down on fat so you will need to pay attention to food labels. You will lose weight if you eat smaller portions, cut down fat and start regular physical activity. Inactive lifestyle More than ever before we need to be getting active. Few women in England take regular activity – only 25% do enough physical activity to protect their hearts5. Getting active is one way of cutting your risk of coronary heart disease you should aim for 30 minutes 5 times a week. There are lots of ways to do this take up walking, going to the gym, climbing the stairs instead of using the lift and so on, but it ideally it should be something you can build into your daily routine. Your family history If you have close family members who have developed coronary heart disease at a young age (under 65 for women and under 55 for men) you have an increased risk and you need to take more care over these factors. Alcohol Alcohol has both risks and benefits for women. The medical profession agrees that moderate drinking may offer some protection against coronary heart disease for men over 40 and women after the menopause. Drinking in moderation e.g. one or two units of alcohol a day for women, equal to two small glasses of wine, two measures of spirits, or a pint of beer. It is thought that this could help however drinking too much alcohol or binge drinking can: - put you at greater risk of stroke because it raises blood pressure, - lead you to put on weight – all alcoholic drinks are high in calories - lead to diabetes, and abnormal heart rhythms or heart failure. Stress Stress usually occurs when we don’t feel able to cope with the demands that are placed on us. We all need challenges this helps us keep motivated, however if you are having a difficult time, if your marriage is breaking up, you are out of work; you are facing redundancy you tend to feel isolated. This may cause you not eat properly drink and smoke more than usual and take less exercise. Information privided by British Heart Foundation www.bhf.org.uk/ or Heart HelpLine: 08450 70 80 70 (open Mon, Tues, Fri 9am-5pm and Weds, Thurs 8am-6pm). 2 British Heart Foundation 2004 coronary heart disease statistics. Pg 181,Garcia MJ,McNamara PM,Gordon T,Kannell WB.Morbidity and mortality in the Framingham population. Sixteen year follow-up. Diabetes 1974; 23:105-111. 3 British Heart Foundation 2004 coronary heart disease statistics. Pg 181,Garcia MJ,McNamara PM,Gordon T,Kannell WB.Morbidity and mortality in the Framingham population.Sixteen year follow-up. Diabetes 1974; 23:105-111. 4 British Heart Foundation 2004 coronary heart disease statistics.Health Survey for England 2002. See Department of Health website:www.publications.doh.gov.uk/stats/trends1.htm,Adults 1993-2002,Table 6. 5 British Heart Foundation 2004 coronary heart disease statistics.Joint Health Surveys Unit (1999) Health Survey for England 1998.TheStationery Office:London. |
|
| Copyright © WOMENS EVERYTHING 2008 | Advertise | | Privacy | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap | Web design by 7Soft.co.uk |