Red Dress Day

 


And that means focus on women's heart health.

What? More limelight for women?

Ma says, "Mais NON !"

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women and men. And since most men still depend upon women for their feeding and care, it is in men's best interest to keep the wifie, mumsie, auntie, sissie and niecie alive.

Men and women often experience different symptoms when having a heart attack. That, and the reality that women wait longer to go to the hospital, explains the statistic that women are more likely than men to die from a heart attack.

Here is a list of classic heart attack symptoms usually associated with men:

• Squeezing chest pain or pressure
  
• Shortness of breath
  
• Sweating
  
• Tightness in chest
  
• Pain spreading to shoulders, neck or arm
  
• Feeling of heartburn or indigestion with or without nausea and vomiting
  
• Sudden dizziness or brief loss of consciousness

Symptoms More Likely in Women:

• Indigestion or gas-like pain
  
• Dizziness, nausea or vomiting
  
• Unexplained weakness, fatigue
  
• Discomfort/pain between shoulder blades (burning-like pain)
  
• Recurring chest discomfort
  
• Sense of impending doom

(it should be noted than both men and women can experience any of the above during a heart attack)

The Today Show had Laura Bush on this morning, and the story was retold of how an article written by Mrs. Bush concerning women's heart attack symptoms prompted a 70-year-old to go to the emergency room within 30 minutes of her onset of symptoms. Fifteen minutes later she went into cardiac arrest.

Having the info and getting to the ER fast saved her life.

Also important...women may notice the following symptoms a month or more before a heart attack:

• Unusual fatigue
  
• Sleep disturbances
  
• Shortness of breath
  
• Indigestion
  
• Anxiety

Be we don't have to wait to have a heart attack...being proactive now makes obvious sense. The basics are watching one's cholesterol, blood pressure, and getting regular aerobic exercise. Alert your doc about heart problems in the family when you go for your annual exam.

Our family also downs a lotta fish oil...good for the cholesterol and also dampens down irregular rhythms.

Of course, that last one would be up to the individual, but I take 3000-4000 milligrams per day and by the way...did I ever tell you my last HDL (good cholesterol) was 100?

Oh, and hey....I lost another pound :-) That's a net loss of 4 lbs in 3.5 weeks, so....yeah :-D

p.s. I'm not going out today, but I am wearing my maroon sweats.

Concerning the picture at top which I believe was taken in 2003: The Project, a collection of 19 red dresses from America's most prestigious designers and a specially designed Red Dress Pin, is the centerpiece of a national campaign—The Heart Truth. The designers included Diane von Furstenberg, Carolina Herrera, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Luca Luca, Oscar de la Renta, Nicole Miller, Donna Karan, Michael Kors, Carmen Marc Valvo, Bill Blass, Ralph Lauren, Vera Wang, Chaiken, Vivienne Tam, Anne Klein, Catherine Malandrino, Marc Jacobs and Badgley Mischka.
 

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