In the past month, I've worn more red, been to more
health-oriented luncheons and finally started paying attention to the number
1 killer of women Š heart disease and stroke.
Eight million American women are currently living with heart disease - 10%
of women are ages 45-64 and 25% are over age 65.
A couple of weeks ago, I started having pains in my chest. I still had
memories of seeing a friend die from a heart attack before the paramedics
were able to help him. It was sudden and probably nothing could have been
done about it at that time. Fortunately, there have been substantial
advances in medicine and most heart attacks are not this dramatic.
Known as the “silent killer,” heart disease is the leading cause of death of
American women and kills 32% of them. Since 43% of deaths in American women,
or nearly 500,000 annually are caused by cardiovascular disease (heart
disease and stroke), I decided to call my doctor's office Š just to be safe,
rather than dead!
I've got a number of things going against me, heart-health-wise: I have only
become a “recovering smoker” (again) for two months. I take medication for
high blood pressure and high cholesterol, my day is filled with stress, I
don't exercise nearly as much as I should (partly due to defective body
parts). Both my parents died of coronary artery disease and I need to lose
weight. Other than that, I'm a perfect specimen!
While men are more likely to experience sudden, intense “someone is standing
on my chest” pain, women are more likely to experience discomfort in the
center of the chest lasting a few minutes, or it may go away and then
return. Shortness of breath might occur with the chest discomfort, or before
it. Discomfort or pain in other upper body parts, including one or both
arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach may occur. Other symptoms to watch for
are nausea, indigestion-type symptoms or a cold sweat.
According to the American
Heart Association, heart disease claimed more lives of American women in
2003 than the combined total of the next seven causes of death. Despite
these sobering statistics, over 90 percent of women do not view heart
disease as a major health concern. Statistics indicate that for 60 percent
of women, the first sign of heart disease is death.
The most recent luncheon I attended was this past
Saturday. It was sponsored by the very active Banning Cultural Alliance and
held at the Women's Club building.
Most of you might associate Charlene Sakurai with
the Alliance, as she is the recent past president and one of the founders.
She is, in fact, extremely medically knowledgeable and a retired registered
nurse. Her husband “Sake” underwent quadruple bi-pass surgery and was up and
around one week later. This might be do to his
excellent constitution and the care he received from Charlene.
Charlene also said he had benefited by excellent
medical care, including learning the fact that many diabetics who could be
having a heart attack do not feel the same chest pain as non-diabetics do.
I realize there are certain genealogical traits I
have inherited and cannot change; high blood pressure is something I have
suffered with for years, I take the medications prescribed and they help.
The only things left to do are exercise more and lose weight. I think I cook
and eat sensibly but I must be doing something wrong. The first thing I am
going to do is eat smaller portions. For instance, I will exchange my love
of cashew nuts for carrot sticks. I will eat about ten (unsalted, unroasted)
almonds per day, as they are beneficial.
When I use oil, I already use the preferred ones
which are olive or canola oil. These monounsaturated oils help lower LDL
(bad) cholesterol and raise HDL (good) cholesterol. Fat is bad but omega-3
fatty acids are good. They protect rather than hurt the heart and can be
found in salmon, sardines or tuna (hold the mayo), which I will now eat
several times a week.
When the weather warms up a bit, I will go back to
my favorite way of cooking food, which is grilling. Until then, I will
continue to steam, broil, bake or microwave.
Since I'm lactose intolerant, I stay away from
dairy products, particularly milk and cheese. When I “cheat” - it's with
cheese that one may find on . . . pizza. Gone! If I do have cheese in the
house, it will be low calorie and low-fat. I prefer eating raw vegetables
anyone; I simply will eliminate the ranch dressing. French fries and
anything fried is banned, too.
Instead of using high-fat toppings, such as
butter, margarine, sour cream, mayonnaise, gravy or regular salad dressing,
go with herbs, spices, salsa, lemon juice or other low-fat choices. I love
air popped popcorn and now eat it without butter and just add some no-salt
seasoning.
While I find myself going to buffets, I will try
to avoid the temptation to eat more to get my money's worth. I might ask a
lunch or dinner companion if they want to split something. I already do, but
make sure you ask for your salad dressings or sauces on the side.
I will be devastated if the rumors are true that
all of the diet soda I have been drinking for years have caused me to gain
not lose weight. It's back to more water with lemon.
Thanks to friends, I am now the beneficiary of a
moving and a stationary bicycle; both of which I will use with vigor when I
cure the bursitis in my right hip. No, this is not a Gail excuse; it is real
and daily pain which should be “cured” next week!
By practicing good health maintenance, I will be
the beneficiary of a new wardrobe. I won't even get to go out it buy it;
I've got three closets full of clothes that I haven't been about to wear for
too long. Wish me luck and I'll keep you posted.
Gail and her husband Bill Paparian created a
service called Writing Solutions in 1996. Gail has also written for a number
of local and national magazines and newspapers over the years.
Currently, she provides public relations
consulting services for the Banning Unified School District. She can be
reached at
info@WritingSolutions.com.
