February is not just a season of love; it is also the American Heart Month. The love we have for our family, friends and significant other should be extended to our cardiovascular health to avoid heart disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease has been the number one killer in the United States for long, taking the lives of approximately 598,000 people in the year 2010. Each year, about 715,000 Americans experience a heart attack with over 73 percent of it as first-timers.
Deaths from heart disease occurred in 1 out of 4 men and women. They feel chest pain, heart arrhythmia or irregular heartbeat and heart attacks which can all be hazardous. The fatalities may be the same in both sexes, but differences between the hearts of males and females must be noted.
The director of the National Institutes of Health - Office of Research on Women's Health Dr. Janine Austin Clayton said to CBS News that females may have a greater probability to get heart problems in comparison to males. Men and women also show different symptoms of heart attack according to cardiologists.
Chest pain occurs more in men rather than in women. Females need to be warier, as their symptoms can take subtle forms that can easily be dismissed such as sleep troubles, fatigue, indigestion, nausea and jaw pain.
Biological differences should also be considered. Studies show that the differences do not end in the symptoms they experience but also in their organ structure and function. If you thought that the heart is the same across all borders, Dr. Clayton says it is far from the case. "That's really important because it can affect the way we diagnose and treat heart disease", she said to CBS News.
Despite these differences, however, there should be an active effort to decrease their likelihood of acquiring heart disease by increasing one's awareness about heart health and maintaining a healthy lifestyle through healthy eating and regular exercise.
