Prof. Dr. Nusrat Ara Majeed

WORLD HEART DAY IS THE WORLD Heart federation’s biggest platform for raising awareness about cardiovascular diseases.These are the leading cause of death globally [. 31 percent of global deaths]

By 2030 more than 23.6 million will die of cardiovascular diseases. Fortunately we can change that because 80 percent of cardiac disease and stroke may be prevented with education and action.

WORLD HEART DAY is celebrated all over the world every year in   last week of September. By now there has been enough awareness about risk factors and how to combat them by life style modifications, which includes exercise, healthyfood, avoidingstress, no to smoking and of course maintaining   weight, blood pressure and blood sugar levels? Butone very important segment   of society, thewomen, have    been ignored   because of certain myths, that is a disease of men and older women. Younger women with these symptoms were ignored, often being dismissed   as cases ofBROKEN AND BEREAVED HAEART. But it is now proven that this bereaved heart was in fact a diseased Heart unfortunately the simple fact of being a woman increases the risk of Heart disease and stroke.

Heart disease claims the lives of 1 in 3 women, that is one third of all mothers, sisters’ and friends. It continues to be a women’s greatest health challenge. In 2004 the American Heart Association faced a challenge, Heart disease claimed the lives of 500,000 women each year. Yet both women and their physicians were not paying attention.

Gender inequality,poverty, illiteracy and lack of access to health services influence women health   in       general           and cardiovascular problems in particular. An appropriate action was to   needed to   dispel     the myths and raise awareness of Heart disease and stroke as no. 1 killer of women. American Heart Association created GO RED FOR WOMEN, a passionate, emotional and social initiative designed to empower women to take charge of their Heart heath. It makes them aware of their personal risks of developing heart disease and gives them the tools they need to lead a heart healthy life.

GO RED FOR WOMEN inspires them to make life style changes mobilize communities and shape policies to save the precious lives of women. The more a woman knows about Heart disease, the better chances she has of beating it. The American Heart association’s signature initiative GO   RED FOR WOMEN is a comprehensive platform designed to create awareness and serve as a catalyst for change to improve the lives of women globally. To achieve this goal, we need to understand the meaning on Go red i.e. blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar.

O-  own your life style-say no to smoking, exercise regularly, eat heart healthy diet. It is up to   you .no one can do it for you, R-realize your risk. We think it will not happen to us, but remember Heart disease kills one out of three women, E-educate your family, D-don’t be silent. Tell every woman you that heart disease is no.1 killer

It is important to understand that Heart disease in women can be, and is different from their male counterparts. Symptoms tend to be vague because in women it is the microvasculature that gets diseased.

Early recognition of the following symptoms is important

1-dry cough-it could be persistent or episodic. Gets worse on lying down, 2-upper abdominal discomfort, indigestion and feeling of heaviness and nausea, 3-shortness of breath especially on exertion, 4-easy fatigability, pain legs , 5 unexplained severe headaches, 6-disturbed   sleep, excessive sweating [ cold sweats]