- Many of us know what we need to do to be healthy, but we don’t seem to be able to translate this knowledge into our own daily reality. We need to empower ourselves to take action and take care of ourselves.
- We need to learn how to interact with our medical care providers; to overcome the gender barriers to accurate diagnosis.
- Women’s threshold for pain is higher and it takes women about an hour longer than men to seek help when they feel sick. So we must learn to take our symptoms to heart and differentiate everyday pain from dangerous heart symptoms.
- Rather than be paralyzed by confusion because so many symptoms we experience can mean a heart problem is brewing, when we feel really bad, we need to check the situation out! This means that if we experience unusually severe pain and shortness of breath, for example, it’s time to see a doctor.
- Studies reveal that, in general, women who are heavy but exercise regularly are healthier than women who are thin but don’t exercise. So exercise because it is healthy for your heart--not to lose weight.
- If you are over age 18, the guideline is to try to get 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week. Moderate means you can get a sentence out, but it is difficult to speak. It means that you are working hard and sweating!
From the wisdom of Dr. Donna Zfat-Zwas, Director, HMO Linda Joy Pollin Cardiovascular Center for Women