Heart Your Heart: Women’s Cardio Health

With the arrival of the sunny months, thoughts turn to the outdoors and heightened health—in terms of activities and eating habits. Hikes up daunting hills, planting gardens, gathering fresh food, and preparing healthy meals with our families are all part of cherished summertime activities. These activities “all play a part in nurturing wellbeing and taking care to nourish a healthy heart,” advises Alexandra Demetro, ND and LM, naturopathic doctor and licensed midwife with Battle Ground Healing Arts Clinic.

Women, wearing many hats (wives, mothers, grandmothers, daughters, and sisters), tend to put the needs and wants of others before themselves. With all the other demands on their busy lives, why should women be concerned with cardiovascular “heart” disease? Cardiovascular disease (CVD) may be the result of heredity, poor diet choices, smoking, lack of exercise, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, and birth abnormalities to the heart. Potentially, any can lead to a heart attack. In fact, “one in 2.5 women will die of heart disease, far greater than all other diseases fatal to women, and more than men,” reports Leslea Steffel-Dennis, a volunteer with WomenHeart of Clark County. In the United States, more than 10 times as many women die from CVD as from breast cancer, according to www.familydoctor.org. Becoming informed and taking steps to ensure heart health will keep women fit and alive longer to spend more quality time with our loved ones.

To read more, pick up a copy of the May 2014 issue at any of these locations, or view the digital archive copy here.