Tag Teamed

Much ado has been made in the last 24 hours among the frenemies and Choconots about whether or not we are giving up Chocolate for the month of February. If we are, I am all for it, EVEN on my birthday. Because I can roll that way. It is true that I miss my dark chocolate, but, another month of chocolate abstinance will be good for me.
However. CamiKaos and I were discussing the topic yesterday evening, and together, we hatched an evil plan. A plan to unite the frenemies and the choconots. Or at least extend an olive branch. Go on over to Cami's if you want to see the plan in detail.
What I offer here is information. Most of the choconots and frenemies are women. February, besides being mine, and Jo's birthday month, (and MM's, for that matter)and, Valentines Day, is also Women's Heart Health month. And as a woman, and a nurse, I know that this is something we MUST pay attention to. Because, all kidding aside. We are all, whether choconot, or frenemy, important. And we have to take care of ourselves. We have loved ones who want us around, always. So, exercise with CamiKaos and I for the month of February. Even if it's just taking a short walk a day. Don't do it because if you do we won't eat chocolate, or because you want to be one of the "in" crowd. (Heh. I likened Choconots to the *in* crowd, how funny). Do it for you. For your heart. It is that important.


Women and Heart Disease Fact Sheet -
8,000,000 American women are currently living with heart disease - 10% of women ages 45 - 64 and 25% age 65 and over.
6,000,000 of women today have a history of heart attack and/or angina or both. Nearly
13% of women age 45 and over have had a heart attack.
435,000 American women have heart attacks each year; 83,000 are under age 65 and 9,000 are under age 45. Their average age is 70.4.
4,000,000 women suffer from angina, and 47,000 of them were hospitalized in 1999.
Mortality:

Heart disease is the leading cause of death of American women and kills 32% of them.
43% of deaths in American women, or nearly 500,000, are caused by cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke) each year.
267,000 women die each year from heart attacks, which kill six times as many women as breast cancer.
31, 837 women die each year of congestive heart failure, or 62.6% of all heart failure deaths.
At-Risk:

The age-adjusted rate of heart disease for African American women is 72% higher than for white women, while African American women ages 55-64 are twice as likely as white women to have a heart attack and 35% more likely to suffer from coronary artery disease.
Women who smoke risk having a heart attack 19 years earlier than non-smoking women.
Women with diabetes are two to three times more likely to have heart attacks.
High blood pressure is more common in women taking oral contraceptives, especially in obese women.
39% of white women, 57% of black women, 57% of Hispanic women, and 49% Asian/Pacific Islander women are sedentary and get no leisure time physical activity.
23% of white women, 38% of black women, and 36% Mexican American women are obese.
Compared with Men:

38% of women and 25% of men will die within one year of a first recognized heart attack.
35% of women and 18% of men heart attack survivors will have another heart attack within six years.
46% of women and 22% of men heart attack survivors will be disabled with heart failure within six years.
Women are almost twice as likely as men to die after bypass surgery.
Women are less likely than men to receive beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors or even aspirin after a heart attack.
More women than men die of heart disease each year, yet women receive only:
33% of angioplasties, stents and bypass surgeries
28% of inplantable defibrillators and
36% of open-heart surgeries
Women comprise only 25% of participants in all heart-related research studies.

Women do not experience symptoms of heart attacks like men do, for the most part. The women I've taken care of that have had them usually complain of back, and belly pain. Never chest pain. I've read a study that confirms this. Women also tend to be more stoic, and they will deny the pain, or not seek treatment. This is why it kills so many women.
The majority of us reading this post are all still young. We can take steps now to avoid this being our future. Myself included. It's never too late to start, right?