Take heart: Women's cardiovascular disease may be preventable

When Dina Piersawl went home to visit her family for the holidays eight years ago, she suffered from severe headaches. By the time she made it back to her home in Chicago, her pain had become worse, and Piersawl had no choice but to go to the hospital the day before New Year's Eve. Her problems were attributed to "holiday stress," and she was sent home.

But on January 2, she was back in the hospital. EKG tests and CAT scans showed that Piersawl had suffered a mini stroke.

It took Piersawl six months of rehab to regain use of her left side, but she was one of the lucky ones.

According to hearttruth.gov, 305,630 women died of heart disease in 2008 alone. According to the website: "of the women who died in 2008, one in four women dies from heart disease. It's the no. 1 killer of women, regardless of race or ethnicity. It also strikes at younger ages than most think, and the risk rises in middle age."

Five years after this incident, Piersawl decided to speak out and share her story in hopes of raising awareness on a local and national level. "If I can help even one person, then what I went through was worth it," she said.

Heart disease is the leading killer of women, but experts say it is also one of the most preventable causes of death. The problem is, few women truly understand their risks.

"Women do not realize that cardiovascular disease is their number one killer. What they can gain by becoming more educated is knowing that fact and knowing some of the things they can do to minimize their risk of cardiovascular disease." said Dr. Sandra Burke, president-elect of Board of Directors for the Chicago metro Heart Association. Burke said that it's extremely important for women to become more educated about their risks. She said: "there are genetic factors that we can't change, but there are so many other things that we can change."

University of Chicago cardiologist Rupa Mehta said some patients are more informed than others: "It really runs the gamut, but women do not appreciate nearly as much as men their risk for heart disease," she said.

Mehta said health-care professionals also underestimate the risk for heart disease in women. She said she thinks she's seen an increase in young female patients recently, especially with increased incidences of diabetes and obesity.

Mehta and Burke agree that women need to be more aware of their risks, and more educated about how to minimize them. Burke said that not smoking is one of the most important ways for women to protect themselves.

"It's amazing that people don't know what smoking - the chemicals in cigarette smoke - can do to the lining of your blood vessels. It's something that a scientist can relate to but a woman in the street doesn't know that."

Burke also recommends regular exercise, saying it is a misconception that people need to "kill themselves" at the gym, working out every day and breaking a sweat. She said that even a 30-minute walk can be extremely healthy.

Mehta said that maintaining an active lifestyle is crucial. She said that women who carry more girth around their midsections are especially at risk.

Mary Jo Diller, a 47-year-old registered nurse agrees with this. Diller has a rare genetic heart disorder, and she had to have a pacemaker put in when she was 42. The best advice she can give to other women is this: "When you're at healthy weight, stay there. Exercise. Don't put on weight if you don't need to."

Burke said women need to learn their numbers: "They can learn about their cholesterol, their HDL which is good cholesterol, which they want to keep high - H, high. And their bad cholesterol, LDL, that they want to keep low through diet," she said.

As for prevention, Mehta said, "the best thing to do is see a doctor regularly. All women are at risk, at any age."