Total Heart Health for Women
The human heart is made up of muscle tissue and is hollow so it can serve as a temporary reservoir for blood. The heart’s function over your lifetime is to keep your blood circulating through the arteries, veins, and capillaries of your body. If you achieve normal life expectancy, your heart will beat about 3.5 billion times. A woman’s heart is generally smaller than a man’s heart, simply because women on average are smaller than men in overall body size. Compare your fist with a man’s fist to get an idea of the heart size difference. But there are other physical characteristics that set women apart from men. It is important for you to understand these differences, because they have an impact on your heart health.
- A woman has a lower metabolic rate. Stacy and Mick carefully watch what they eat, and they run three miles a day together. But Mick is losing more weight than Stacy, which irritates her to no end. There’s good reason for it, however. A woman’s internal “engine” for processing calories runs at a slower speed than a man’s, so it will take you longer to work off extra calories and pounds. Bottom line: the average woman must eat less and exercise more than the average man to achieve the same weight goals and overall health.
- A woman’s cholesterol is different. Cholesterol is a significant concern in the pursuit of heart health because abnormal cholesterol levels in the blood are known to contribute to heart disease. There are two designations of cholesterol: high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Most people know them as “good” cholesterol (HDL) and “bad” cholesterol (LDL).You may remember that high HDL scores are good and low LDL scores are bad.As a woman, you enjoy a slight genetic benefit over a man when it comes to cholesterol. Women tend to have higher levels of good cholesterol and lower levels of bad cholesterol. This doesn’t mean you can ignore the concerns about cholesterol in your diet. It just means you have a good head start in the right direction. After menopause, however, decreasing levels of estrogen in the system result in decreasing levels of HDL, meaning that a woman’s cholesterol profile after menopause begins to look more like a man’s. This change in profile also elevates the risk of heart problems in postmenopausal women.
- A woman’s symptoms of heart attack and other heart problems are different generally speaking, heart-attack symptoms in women are more diffuse and nonspecific than those of men. Typically, you hear of men complaining of chest pains and numbness in the left arm. While some women do experience these more typical symptoms, others experience pain at the top of the back, a burning sensation in the upper abdomen, nausea, flulike symptoms, anxiety, and sweating. Some women who suffer a heart attack don’t even know it. Furthermore, heart disease in women usually surfaces later in life than in men as a result of decreasing hormone levels.
- A woman’s hormones impact heart health the presence of estrogen in women up through midlife is thought to help protect against cardiovascular disease. But with the onset of menopause, women become more vulnerable to heart problems. Furthermore, since overall health and vitality may be diminished due to aging after menopause, treating heart problems at this stage is more challenging.
- A woman’s psychological approach to heart health and weight loss is different there are many factors that motivate persons to control their weight and pursue a healthy lifestyle. Women seem primarily motivated by benefits to their appearance, while men pursue these goals to increase their strength. While both qualities are desirable to both sexes, women tend to stay with diet and exercise to look good, while men do so to develop muscle.
Used by permission. Adapted from Total Heart Health for Women by Dr. Ed and JoBeth Young, Dr. Michael Duncan and Dr. Richard Leachman (W Publishing Group, Copyright 2006).
