Love Your Heart During Women’s Heart Health Month

February is Women’s Heart Health Month, and we’ve been busy getting the word out there all month long! We celebrate women’s health every day around here but wanted to take the opportunity to shine a light on the importance of women specific cardiovascular care.

First and foremost, please do yourself a huge favor and carve out some time to listen to Dr. Amy Doneen’s amazing talk: “Strong Heart, Sharp Minds: Woman to woman- let’s talk heart and brain health.” This is an incredible free resource; share it with your friends, co-workers, neighbors and family.

To accompany the talk, we have compiled a list of simple action items for all women working towards life-long heart health.

Actionable Steps Women Can Take TODAY to Improve Heart Health

1. Know Your Numbers (and track them!)
   This includes blood pressure, ApoB and LDL-C, A1c, Lp(a), fasting insulin, triglycerides, visceral fat, hsCRP, LpPLA2 and other labs routinely checked by Bale Doneen providers. When you are AWARE of your numbers, you can actively work to improve them.
2. Build Muscle (it’s not optional!)
   Resistance training (lifting weights) 2-4 days/week improves insulin sensitivity, raises HDL, lowers triglycerides and helps to preserve metabolic health through perimenopause and menopause. There is no “magic pill,” but resistance training may be as close as we get to making this claim.
3. Walk After Meals
   Walking for 10-15 minutes after eating blunts blood sugar spikes and helps to preserve normal endothelial function and inflammation.
4. Prioritize Good Sleep
   Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night and treat sleep apnea if you have it! Chronically poor sleep raises blood pressure, worsens insulin resistance and increases visceral (bad) fat. Poor sleep is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
5. Address Perimenopause and Menopause Proactively
   Perimenopause is a cardiometabolic inflection point; overall risk increases with the hormonal transition. Talk to your doctor about whether hormone replacement therapy is appropriate for you, and monitor lipids, blood sugar and insulin markers and changes in cardiovascular imaging closely (CIMT, CACS) during this time.
6. Manage Stress
   While avoiding stress isn’t always in our control, developing tools to better deal with it is. Chronic stress raises blood pressure, increases visceral fat, worsens cholesterol markers and negatively impacts blood sugar and insulin levels. Learning to healthily co-exist with our daily stressors requires practice. Parasympathetic activation (breathing exercises, prayer, meditation, time in nature, etc.) is a vital piece of cardiovascular care. 
7. Use Pregnancy History as Insight into Lifetime Cardiovascular Risk
   Our pregnancies offer a glimpse into future cardiometabolic risk, often decades before true disease manifests. Women with a history of pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes and PCOS have a significantly increased lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease. Recognizing whether you are at increased risk based on your pregnancy experience opens the door for early monitoring, and a proactive approach to lifelong cardiovascular health.
8. Don’t Ignore Symptoms
   Women experiencing cardiovascular events often present much differently than men. The classic chest pressure experienced by many men is sometimes completely absent in women. Recognizing the less common signs — such as fatigue, shortness of breath, jaw pain, back pain, anxiety or nausea — as potential cardiovascular symptoms is vital. Bottom line, if something feels wrong, get it checked out!
9. Consider Imaging Studies (Coronary calcium score, CIMT or Cleerly) to Better Understand Your Vascular Health
   If you want to better understand your CURRENT cardiovascular health status, getting a “full picture” often includes imaging studies. Talk to your doctor about getting a Carotid Intima Media (CIMT) scan, a coronary calcium score (CACS) or a CT coronary angiogram with Cleerly analysis.