Taking on Women ’s Heart Health the Old-Fashioned Way

This editorial was originally published by Morning Consult on 4/14.
Heart disease claims the lives of more women than any other illness — more than all types of cancer combined — so let’s set straight the myth that heart disease is a man’s disease. While an estimated 80 percent of heart disease is preventable, cardiovascular disease among women remains an invisible disease in the national conversation. It’s time we focus more attention on the unacceptable number of mothers, daughters and sisters we have lost, and spread awareness of this silent killer of women.
Every 80 seconds a woman dies of heart disease; that’s 400,000 women each year. Tragically, my own mother was one of them. One week after learning she had high blood pressure, my mom had a stroke in front of me when I was 15. Her death, like those of so many other women, was preventable. At the time of her death, her prescription for blood pressure medication was still in her purse.
Heart disease affects women differently than men, and it’s imperative that clinicians — nurses, physicians assistants and doctors — be equipped with the knowledge that can help guide more effective treatment and prevention options. As conversations in government focus on health, we must work with federal and state leaders to make sure education about women’s heart health is a national priority.
Until these actions occur, we need to make progress the old-fashioned way, reaching one woman — and the men who care about the...

Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - April 14, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs