Healthtips

Cardiovascular disease, fractures resulting from osteoporosis and lung cancer are among the three top killers of American women. The medical community has done a good job of making women aware of the value of early detection in surviving breast cancer, but many women do not realize that they are at risk for heart disease, life-threatening bone fractures and lung disease which are statistically more likely than breast cancer to cause their death.

The numbers are frightening. Cardiovascular disease, which includes heart disease, hypertension, and stroke, is the number one killer of women, according to the American Heart Association. It kills half a million American women each year. That figure exceeds the next seven causes of death combined. Additionally, women are 15% more likely than men to die of a heart attack and they are twice as likely to have a second heart attack in the six years following the first. Yet in a 2000 national heart association survey, only 34% of women correctly identified heart disease as a leading cause of death and only 8% saw it as their biggest health threat.

The most important advice I can give my patients is to know the risk factors and symptoms, and take preventive steps. Lifestyle changes including following a healthy diet and getting daily exercise can help greatly. My patients often use the excuse that they don’t have time because they're too busy with jobs and caring for their families. But the reality is that anything they do for themselves, such as changing their diet or taking walks, truly helps their families. They think it's selfish to take care of themselves, but they when they make these changes, they ultimately benefit everyone in their family.

The latest research shows that every year 1.5 million women suffer from osteoporosis-related fractures. Three hundred thousand of these are hip fractures, from which 75,000 women die. This is three times the number of women who die annually from breast cancer. However, in 2000 it was reported that only 3 –5 % of those with hip fractures were diagnosed or treated for osteoporosis.

As with many chronic diseases, there are several risk factors that tend to make certain women more vulnerable to the excessive bone thinning associated with osteoporosis. Heredity may play a role, but it is difficult to pinpoint genetic factors contributing to the development of the disease. However, a lifetime history of a diet with too little calcium is a major risk factor, as is the excessive intake of caffeinated beverages such as coffee, tea or soft drinks which can leech the calcium from the bones. Other risks include being very underweight, or regularly missing periods. Low estrogen levels and steroid use are additional factors contributing to the development of osteoporosis.

Making lifestyle changes such as increasing calcium intake to 1000 milligrams daily, getting adequate amounts of Vitamin D, increasing exposure to sunshine, and engaging in weight bearing exercise such as walking, can help fight osteoporosis but early diagnosis is the most powerful weapon in stopping its dangerous progression. I encourage my patients to consider a regular schedule of bone density testing to be as important to maintaining their health as their annual Pap smears and mammograms.

Women appear to be more at risk from the chemicals in tobacco smoke that cause cancer. Therefore they may be at greater risk of developing lung cancer when they smoke or are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke. Researchers have discovered several factors that can cause lung cancer. The use of tobacco is the most important since about 90% of lung cancers are related to smoking. The harmful substances (carcinogens) in tobacco smoke damage the cells in the lungs, and over time, these damaged cells may develop into lung cancer.

The risk of developing lung cancer is related to how long a person has smoked and how many packs of cigarettes per day he or she smokes. Someone who smokes one pack of cigarettes a day has 20 times the risk of developing lung cancer compared to a non-smoker. I stress to my patients that the most important prevention measure is to not use any tobacco. They can reduce their risk for lung cancer by quitting. The risk will gradually decrease over 10 to 15 years as the lungs recover. Former smokers will still have a higher risk of developing lung cancer than non-smokers even years after quitting smoking. The benefit of quitting smoking is greater if it occurs at a young age. Several products, such as nicotine gum, medicated nicotine sprays or inhalers, nicotine patches, and an oral medication (bupropion), are available to help to quit smoking.