Women’s Lifestyle And Heart Health

Heart health is something about which everybody should remain concerned in the present day. This is because, in today’s world, people are often found to live a hectic and unhealthy lifestyle that is full of stress and lack of proper and healthy practices. And thus, people today are more prone to suffer from several types of lifestyle disorders and other chronic diseases, one of them being chances of cardiac damage. In fact, it has already been reported that cardiac disorders and several conditions of heart damage are quite common today not only in India but also in some of the major parts of the world. Women can suffer from cardiac diseases, not only in their old age but also in their middle age as well. This is because a female body witness a number of rapid hormonal changes that can contribute to cardiac health disorders. So, for women, it is important to take good care of their cardiac health. Healthcare professionals and cardiac health experts have always advised that following a healthy and proper lifestyle, especially for women, can significantly help to lower the risks of cardiac damage and develop several types of cardiac damage and heart-related disorders, such as high blood pressure, high levels of cholesterol, risks of heart attack, and so on. A healthy lifestyle refers to the consumption of a healthy and balanced diet that is filled with high amounts of nutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, and all other substances that are highly essential and beneficial for the overall health of the body, along with a stress- free life and getting an adequate amount of rest and sleep. So, it is very essential for women to know what all about a healthy lifestyle is, what cardiac diseases are, which types of cardiac diseases can affect a woman’s health, how cardiac conditions develop in the body of a woman, and most importantly, how the regular practice of having a healthy lifestyle can lower down the risks of developing heart diseases among women. If you are a woman and if you are worried about your cardiac health and if you think that you are prone to the risks of heart disease, this is the right article for you, that will help you to get a detailed idea about how risks of heart diseases can be significantly lowered down by following a proper and healthy lifestyle.

What Is A Healthy Lifestyle?

A healthy lifestyle is all about staying healthy, consuming healthy food and nutrient-rich components in your daily diet, getting at least 7 to 8 amounts of sleep, reducing, or avoiding heavy smoking, consumption of alcohol, or any harmful drugs, and so on. When you are following a healthy lifestyle, you need to make sure that you are either limiting or avoiding the consumption of unhealthy components in your regular diet, such as foods that are rich in unhealthy fats such as trans fats, and so on. Apart from maintaining your physical health in a better state, you should also take care of your mental health. This is because, in the present day, women are extremely busy at work- both at home and outside and as a result, it might become difficult for them to lessen the hustle, which is often considered responsible to create some amount of stress among women. High levels of stress, anxiety, and severe conditions such as clinical depression are particularly common and more in occurrences among women. An increase in stress levels can have a negative impact on your overall health, mostly on your heart health, and as a result, you are highly susceptible to suffering from several types of cardiac diseases. So, maintain a healthy lifestyle, and take good care of both your physical and mental health conditions.

Heart Diseases And Women’s Health

Most women today are having a high chance of developing several kinds of cardiac diseases because of cardiac damage. Apart from the common heart-related conditions such as stroke, heart attack, heart failure, and cardiac arrest, there are some more types of cardiac diseases, from which women suffer the most. Some such conditions can be listed here as follows:

• coronary vasospasm
• coronary microvascular disease
• heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction
• coronary artery disease
• peripheral artery disease
• arrhythmia
• valvular heart disease
• congestive heart failure

Other than these above-mentioned conditions, some other heart disorders may also develop over time (may become prominent after menopause) or may be present in the body since the time of birth- a condition that is also known as congenital heart disease.

When women are impacted by heart damage, then the most crucial factors that have an important role to play behind the occurrences of these heart diseases, are a number of red blood cells (RBC), rapid hormonal changes, a trace of cardiac diseases in family history, and so on.

Signs And Symptoms Related To Heart Disease In Women:

The signs and symptoms of cardiac damage are found to differ from one woman to another based on a few factors. In fact, some women do not even experience any early sign of cardiac damage, which makes it even harder to identify whether she is suffering from any condition of cardiac damage and treat such a condition. In fact, the symptoms of cardiac diseases in women often do not get revealed until they have a cardiac emergency, or they suffer severe heart-related health conditions such as heart attack, cardiac arrest, heart failure, and so on. But there are some common symptoms that are found in most women who are at greater risk of developing cardiac diseases. Some such signs and symptoms of cardiac damage in women can be listed here as follows:

• Moderate to severe pain or discomfort in the chest- a condition is known as angina
• Pain in the upper back
• Breathing difficulties or shortness of breath
• Excessive fatigue and weakness
• Nausea that may or may not be accompanied by vomiting
• pain in the neck, jaw, or throat
• indigestion or heartburn
• pain in you is the upper portion of the abdomen
• changes in skin color, as your skin becomes pale and greyish
• unusual sweating
• pain, discomfort, or a tingling sensation in one or both arms
• light-headedness or feeling dizzy

Why Do Women Have Cardiac Diseases? Is Menopause To Be Blamed?

It is true that a woman experiences a great deal of physical, psychological, and hormonal changes after they reach menopause- a condition characterized by the pausing of the menstrual cycle in the female body, that mostly occurs after the age of 45 or 50. So, after menopause, the secretion of hormones, particularly female reproductive hormones such as oestrogen and progesterone. This leads to the occurrence of several conditions in the female body. Some such changes after menopause in the female body can be listed here as follows:

• Moderate to profuse sweating at night
• Hot flushes and burning sensation in the ears
• Emotional changes and sudden mood swifts
• Changes in the vagina and an increase in vaginal dryness

How Can Healthy Lifestyle Help to Reduce Risk of Cardiac Issue In Women?

A healthy lifestyle is essential for lowering down the risks of cardiac damage among women. There are certain ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle for women. Some such methods of a healthy lifestyle are listed here as follows:

1. Eat Healthy Foods Everyday:

To maintain a healthy lifestyle, it is extremely important to consume a balanced diet and food components that are highly rich in health-beneficial nutrients. Eat plenty of fresh fruits such as peach, pears, apples, bananas, guava, pineapple, and so on. Along with these, consume high amounts of green leafy vegetables such as kale, broccoli, spinach, and so on.

2. Eat Healthy Fats:

Consume foods that are rich in healthy fats such as omega- 3 fatty acids. These types of healthy fats are rich in seafood such as tuna, mackerel, salmon, and so on. These foods help to reduce the bad or LDL (Low-Density Lipoprotein) cholesterol and keep the levels of good or HDL (High-Density Lipoprotein) cholesterol at optimum. Reduce the consumption of foods that are rich in trans-fat to lower the risks of heart attack or cardiac damage.

3. Get Enough Rest:

Getting enough sleep, mostly after menopause can help you to lower your stress levels which can automatically reduce the risks of cardiac damage. Get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep each day.