Go Red For Women

Friday, February 7th is National Wear Red Day.  By wearing red, we as women, raise awareness of this silent killer.  Before I lost my brother to heart failure last January I did not know that heart disease was the #1 killer of women.  I always thought breast cancer was the leading killer, I guess I thought this due to all the awareness that was out there for breast cancer. The month of October is dedicated to breast cancer and everyone knows about Susan G. Komen. 

Me and my daughter, Mia Going Red for Women
February 7, 2014

Today I'm wearing red.  But that's that all.  I'm setting up an appointment to get myself checked out.  Something I haven't told many people aside from family is that I suffer from anxiety.  It's genetic as my mom, siblings all experience and have to deal with this.  It sucks, it really does.  I was watching some of the videos online and a lot of the women shared stories of having chest pains and doctors would dismiss saying it was due to anxiety/stress.  I've gotten these chest pains before and it's quite scary, but I've always related those pains back to the anxiety attacks that I get.  I rather be safe than sorry so I'm making it my mission to really focus on my health and make sure I'm making efforts to prevent or help reduce any chance of any sort of disease or sickness.  As a mother, I want to make sure I do whatever I can to make sure I'm alive and healthy to see my children grow up.  The last thing I would want for myself or for anyone I know is to avoid prevention. 
 
Heart disease doesn't discriminate, so whether you think your healthy and you exercise regularly and eat right, that doesn't necessarily keep you out of the woods.  Even your age doesn't determine your risk.  Young or old, we're all susceptible to have or get some form of heart disease.  Women who smoke and take birth control pills are at greater risk of having a heart attack or stroke than those who don't do either.  High blood pressure and high cholesterol can damage our hearts and blood vessels.  It's important to get regular health screenings to check our numbers.  It's also important to maintain a healthy weight, eat good food and exercise regularly.
 
Some symptoms of a heart attack in women are sweating, pressure, nausea and jaw pain which are most symptoms women dismiss as stress or simply feeling under the weather.  Most of us think nothing like this could happen to us, but what I heard so much by hearing different stories was just that, "I didn't think this would happen to me."
 
There is lots of information out there.  But I would highly recommend going to get a health screening.  Most symptoms go unnoticed.  This disease is nicknamed the silent killer for a reason. Most women are unaware that anything is wrong with them until it's too late. 
 
 

 
 
For more information visit
 
Go Red For Women
 
American Heart Association
 

Take care of your heart, it's the only one you have!

Vickie XO