Heart Health for Women

December 30, 2020

Heart Health for Women

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States. The most common cause of heart disease in both men and women is coronary artery disease, a narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries. Coronary artery disease happens slowly over time and is the main reason people have heart attacks. Men have a greater risk for heart disease earlier in life than women and women’s risk increases after menopause.

Work with your health care provider to address risk factors you can change:

Control your blood pressure
Lower your cholesterol
Don’t smoke
Get enough exercise

Talk to your health care provider about whether estrogen and low-dose aspirin are right for you.

Know the Signs of a Heart Attack
The signs of a heart attack can be different for women than they are for men and may include:

Heavy ache in your chest or back between your shoulder blades
Sharp pain in your upper body
Shortness of breath
Breaking out in a cold sweat
Unusual or unexplained tiredness
Feeling dizzy or light-headed
Feeling sick to your stomach

Learn more about heart disease in women.

Psoriasis

Psoriasis is an autoimmune skin disease that affects more than 3% of the U.S. population. With psoriasis, an overactive immune system leads to inflammation and a rapid turnover of skin cells causing thick, red, scaly skin. There are many approaches for treating psoriasis. Safe and proven treatment options include creams, light therapy, and medications given as pills or a shot. Your doctor may prescribe one or a combination of these treatments.

Birthmarks

Birthmarks are abnormalities of the skin that are present when a baby is born. No one knows what causes many types of birthmarks, but some run in families. Most are not serious and some go away on their own.

There are two types of birthmarks:

Vascular: made up of blood vessels that haven’t formed correctly, they are usually red. Two types of vascular birthmarks are hemangiomas and port-wine stains.
Pigmented: made of a cluster of pigment cells that cause color in skin. They can be many different colors, from tan to brown, gray to black, or even blue. Moles can be birthmarks.

How to Get a COVID-19 Test

If you think that you need a COVID-19 test, contact your health care provider. You can also check your state or local health department’s website for information on testing in your area. The CDC’s Community-Based Testing Sites for COVID-19 website has information on no-cost testing and links to all state health department websites.

Thank You for Reading in 2020

As this unusual year comes to a close, we’re reflecting on the past and looking ahead to what next year may bring. We’d like to offer our sincere thanks to you, our readers, for following along this year. We hope you’ve read something that was helpful to you. If you missed a newsletter you can read them here.

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