Womens Heart Health

Saleicha Brice is no longer a smoker, following an angioplasty with three stents. "I had a 99% blockage in my left artery, and a 25% block of my right artery," she says. "Now I take an aspirin a day and a blood thinner. I'm exercising a whole lot more. I do my walking, and I have a machine that's either a stairstepper or a bike."

Mrs. Brice will continue to follow up with Dr. Perry at regular intervals, and she'll have a stress test every year.

Shelly Wilson's catheterization showed three blockages that called for bypass surgery. Following her gradual

recovery and three months of rehabilitation at Beebe Medical Center, she says she's "in tip-top shape now. I'm on medicine for high blood pressure and cholesterol, and they stay fine. They gave me an electrocardiogram and an echocardiogram [about a month ago], and both were good. I go for checkups every four months."

Although treatment for heart conditions has come a long way, Dr. Economides says there is room for

improvement. "The only thing that's sobering - and I hope is going to change - is that even though we've reduced the mortality in men, there doesn't seem to be the same benefit in women," he says.

In fact, according to the American Heart Association, 38 percent of women - compared with 25 percent of men - will die within one year after a heart attack.

Dr. Akiki explains, "The coronary arteries in women are narrower than in men, and women in general don't do as well after bypass surgery or stenting in the long term. There is still a lot of work being done to understand the

differences and improve the outcome."

How to be heart-healthy

You can protect yourself from heart disease by adopting a healthy lifestyle:

> Stop smoking. "Very few things increase the chance of having a heart attack so much as smoking," says Dr. Perez. Dr. Akiki adds, "If you stop smoking, within five years, the increased risk goes back to close to baseline." The

exception, he says, is with post-menopausal women.

> Eat a healthy diet. Dr. Economides defines it this way: "Avoid high-fat foods - pastries, cakes and ice cream, fried foods. Cut down on red meat. Eat lots of fish, fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes - what I call the good

Mediterranean diet." Taking cholesterol-lowering medication is no shortcut, he says. "A good diet offers protection no matter what your cholesterol levels are, so it's not enough just to take a cholesterol pill."

> Exercise. "Exercise by itself has been shown over and over again to be cardio-protective," says Dr. Perez. "It

reduces your blood pressure levels and cholesterol levels, and even for diabetes can be helpful." Dr. Economides is equally enthusiastic: "[In one test,] sedentary women who became active late in life reaped the same benefits as those who were active throughout, so it's never too late to start. Brisk walking, 30 minutes a day, confers a great benefit."

> Drop excess weight. A recent report says that 65 percent of Americans are overweight. Extra pounds just make your heart work harder.

> Monitor your blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure, see your doctor.

"The only area that we're not able to change is the family history," Dr. Perez points out. "All these other factors, we have the power to change."

"Prevention is better than cure," Dr. Economides says. "Arteriosclerosis doesn't start at the age of 75, it starts at the age of 2. It's not a disease of the elderly, it just manifests more in the elderly."

Saleicha Brice knows that better than most. "It can happen," she says. "You're better going to have it checked than not. I'm one of the lucky ones; I'm still here today."