Unlocking Heart Health: 7 facts every woman must know for cardiovascular wellness

Did you know your heart holds the key to a longer, fuller life?

Let’s pause for a moment, health and medicine should not just be about extending life, but improving the quality of life. As I watch my father battle Alzheimer’s Disease, I know that this is where medicine needs to shine - how to not just extend life, but improve the quality of life. 

In order to improve our true vitality , so that we can life to our fullest potential, we want to look at heart health and what that really means. You might be thinking, "Heart disease prevention sounds vital, but where do I even start?" It can be challenging to weed through the information online, the medical jargon, and conflicting advice to know what actually we need to do for improving our cardiovascular health. I promise you clarity, actionable insights, data backed information, and a path towards a healthier heart. 

Let's dive in.

Understanding Cardiovascular Health

Think of cardiovascular health as the engine of your body, powering every journey. It's the harmony between your heart, blood vessels, and blood, ensuring smooth operation. 

Now, let's bust a myth: cardiovascular health isn't just about avoiding heart attacks. It's the bedrock of your well-being, influencing everything from energy levels to mental clarity. 

Heart Disease Risks Differ for Women

Women face unique heart risks often masked by misleading symptoms. While men get the spotlight in heart discussions, women face a different tune. Fatigue could be your heart whispering for attention, with heart disease affecting millions annually. Some women may have no symptoms at all, where others could have chest pain or a dull ache, neck or jaw pain, or upper abdominal or back pain. 

Per the CDC, 44% of women (over 60 million) in the United States are living with some form of heart disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States and can affect women at any age.

Importance of Early Detection and Prevention

In my opinion, we should be discussing cardiovascular disease years before the first symptom. By the time a heart attack has presented, the root dysfunction was already present years before. Early detection goes beyond blood pressure checks, and needs to assess genetic inflammatory markers like lipoprotein (a), oxidation of lipids, density of lipids, markers of inflammation, levels of omega-3 fatty acids, and coronary artery plaquing.

Lifestyle Factors and Heart Health

Now, let's talk lifestyle. Nurture your heart with nutritious food, exercise, stress relief, and quality sleep. 

Stress is a massive contributor to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. We have a toolbox full of strategies to help your body better manage stress for heart health. I find that asking our brains of we are stressed is a challenging question, because our brains will tell us an answer that is based on the concoction of genetics, nurture, past events, how were were shown to manage stress as a child, plus the effects of our limbic system and amygdala in the brain. This brings into question and a deeper understanding of dysregulated nervous systems, that we have now learned to be ‘functional’ in our day-to-day life. So while you may not feel stressed, I question is that because your baseline is a stressed homeostasis?

Poor metabolic health and elevated blood sugar can lead to cardiovascular disease if they are not recognized and managed early. I take prevention in this arena seriously. We know that cardiovascular disease is a metabolic disease, and guess what . . . so is dementia. So if you want to not just extend your life, but to actually live your golden years well, full of energy, mental clarity, and vitality, we need to be addressing metabolic health today when you are young. 

Sleep is a key component to detoxifying the brain and body, resetting metabolic health, lowering inflammation, balancing the circadian cycle, and calming the nervous system. Lack of quality sleep, especially in our busy modern world, is a key stepping stone for reversing cardiac and metabolic disease. Side note, sleep apnea is a risk factor for increased metabolic inflammation, cardiovascular disease, and dementia . . . the importance of oxygen and sleep.

Nutrition & supplements can be used proactively to support heart health. I love the phrase “you can’t out supplement a poor diet”. When it comes to taking supplements, we want to be judicious about how we are using them, for what purpose, what data is backing them, so that we can actually reverse the root disease and dysfunction instead of tossing a band-aid over the symptoms. 

Look at the whole person - from gut health to inflammation to sleep and mood. Body systems do not function separately but very much depend upon and influence each other. If we want to optimize heart health, we need to optimize the whole body, physically, mentally, and emotionally. 

Role of Genetics and Family History

Your heart's story begins long before your first beat. It's written in your DNA, a memoir of your family's heart journey. But here's the plot twist: genetics isn't destiny. Your genes may lay the foundation, but your choices pen the ending. This is where epigenetics come into play; while we cannot change the cards you were dealt, we can guide what cards your hand is expressing. Genetics go beyond having a higher risk for ‘x’ disease, it also looks at how your biochemistry is programmed. This is an area that I advocate for my patients to assess when it comes to not just living longer, but living well. Once we know what genetic cards you were dealt, we can then know what steps to take to proactively support your body during key phases of your life. 

Heartfelt Empowerment: Your Journey to Heart Health Begins Now

Every small step propels you toward a healthier tomorrow. Start by incorporating one heart-healthy habit into your daily routine. So, after closing this article, take a moment to breathe deeply, anchoring yourself in the commitment to your well-being of today, and your future.

Incorporate one heart-healthy habit into your daily routine—whether it's a brisk walk, swapping sugary snacks for fruits, or simply practicing gratitude. Embrace the power of consistency; it's the cornerstone of long lasting results and change.

As you envision a future filled with health and vitality to not just live, but to live well, remember: your heart's health is a key to unlocking your future self - you deserve nothing less than health’s absolute best.

If you want to learn more how to improve your cardiovascular health individually, reach out to our office by filling out our short application to learn more about how we can help you.