This means women just like you - mothers, sisters, friends - are dying at the rate of one per minute. Heart disease is the number one killer of all Americans, more than all cancers combined!
Make sure YOU know the SIGNs and Symptoms – from the American Heart Association
More women die of cardiovascular disease than from all forms of cancer combined! Eighty percent of cardiac events in women could be prevented if women made the right choices for their hearts, involving diet, exercise and abstinence from smoking.
What is a Heart Attack? A heart attack occurs when the blood flow to a part of the heart is blocked, usually by a blood clot. If this clot cuts off the blood flow completely, the part of the heart muscle supplied by that artery begins to die.
Know the Signs of a Heart Attack so you can take action quickly. Signs are:
- Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of your chest. It lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back.
- Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
- Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
- Other signs such as breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
- As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain.
If you have any of these signs, don’t wait more than five minutes before calling for help.
Call 9-1-1...Get to a hospital right away.
Did you know Stroke is the No. 3 cause of death in America? Strokes are the major cause of severe, long-term disability. Stroke and TIA (transient ischemic attack) happen when a blood vessel feeding the brain gets clogged or bursts. The signs of a TIA are like a stroke, but usually last only a few minutes. If you have any of these signs, don’t wait more than five minutes before calling for help.
Know the Signs of a Stroke so you can take action quickly. Signs are:
- Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
- Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
- Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
- Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
- Sudden severe headache with no known cause
Also, check the time so you’ll know when the first symptoms appeared. It’s very important to take immediate action. Research from the American Heart Association has shown that if given within three hours of the start of symptoms, a clot-busting drug can reduce long-term disability for the most common type of stroke.
Reference: American Heart Association No-Fad Diet: A Personal Plan for Healthy Weight Loss, Copyright © 2005 by the American Heart Association.
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