The phrase is well worn but needs to be repeated because there are still too many people ignoring the topic: Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women.
Moreover, heart disease is deadlier for women than all forms of cancer combined. Why does this message need to be repeated? Because many women, particularly in the Hispanic culture that is widespread in South Florida, act as the primary care givers of the family, supervising doctors' appointments for the kids, the spouse and elderly parents.
However, these women often put off their own checkups and screenings, says Alvaro Gomez, M.D., cardiologist with Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute.
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[Transcript]
[Women and Heart Disease]
[Heart disease is the #1 killer of women in general. More so than all cancers combined]
[Alvaro Gomez, M.D., Cardiologist, Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute]
And therefore we need to take steps to prevent it. That's the beauty of heart disease, it's largely preventable by simple measures, but we need to be aware of it in order to achieve those preventive measures.
[Common Risk Factors that Contribute to Heart Disease]
[Dr. Alvaro Gomez]
There's one where we can't do much about, which is our family history. Our genetics can't be changed, but you can fine tune them if you take care of all the other risk factors. Smoking is a recognized risk factor for heart disease. And of course the solution there is to quit. We have hypertension. Hypertension is a common risk factor that can be easily treated with medications. The same can be said for high cholesterol. And then of course you have diabetes. Diabetes takes an extra importance nowadays with the obesity epidemic we're going through in the United States. And obesity carries diabetes, and once you have diabetes, it's a whole different ball game because diabetes is one of the main contributors to the production of coronary disease, coronary blockages, that eventually will lead to a heart attack. And all these risk factors can be treated, can be modulated with medications, with treatment, with diet, with activity.
[Hispanic Women and Heart Disease]
[Dr. Alvaro Gomez]
When it comes to Hispanic women, we have extra things we need to worry about. Probably the most important one is the cultural aspect, which acts in two different ways. One is our diet. Now our Hispanic diets are delicious, but they are very rich in carbohydrates. Now there's another cultural factor in terms of the role of the women in the Hispanic family. The Hispanic mother is a bit more of a caretaker and she has to take care of everybody else in the household and she comes last. And obviously that leads to problems because it can eventually lead to delayed treatments, delayed searches for help in terms of looking for your doctor when you have risk factors, or looking for a physician when you have symptoms, symptoms that can be introduction to a heart attack. Many times when patients have a hundred, they can have symptoms for days before the heart attack actually occurs. And if you don't act on those symptoms quickly, then it may be too late by the time you ask for help.
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[End Transcript]
