"Go Red For Women" - Ariel Cochran
It's National Wear Red Day, a part of the American Heart Association's attempt to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease in women. Heart disease is the number one killer in women, and disease rates in younger women are increasing. Risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes increase the risk of the disease. The American Heart Association warns that symptoms for heart disease can be different for women. While men typically experience crushing chest pain, women can experience shortness of breath, jaw pain, nausea, vomiting, and even back pain. It is important to know your risk factors. “A woman's entire life is really what increases her risk. We can go back to pregnancy and see preeclampsia or high blood pressure, or gestational diabetes and high sugars existed,” said Suzanne Steinbaum DO, director of Women’s Cardiovascular Prevention, Health and Wellness at The Mount Sinai Hospital. More than 400,000 women die from cardiovascular diseases each year. That is more than the deaths from cancer, accidents and diabetes in women combined.
— Suzanne R. Steinbaum, DO, Senior Faculty, Medicine, Cardiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Director, Women’s Cardiovascular Prevention, Health and Wellness, The Mount Sinai Hospital