(From shine.com)

If you are a woman in her 20s or 30s, you may not have been all that concerned with the health of your heart. Statistics show that there is a serious lack of understanding among women about the dangers of heart disease and stroke. As we enter American Heart Month this February, however, there may be reason to start paying attention. Here’s why:

1. Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) is the #1 Killer Among Women: According to the results of a 2003 study, only 13 percent of women in America believe that heart disease and stroke are the greatest health threat to women. The reality is, however, that CVD is THE largest cause of female deaths in America. Specifically, in 2005, CVD claimed the lives of 454,613 females, while cancer of all forms claimed the lives of 268,890 women. Further, American women are 4 to 6 times more likely to die of heart disease than of breast cancer.

Change your life with morning exercise

2. CVD Can Affect Women of Every Age: Heart disease develops over time and can start as early as the teenage years. Girls, teenagers and young adults can make lifestyle-related choices that can increase heart disease risk or decrease risk. Lack of physical activity, smoking and poor nutritional choices can all play a role in the early development of heart disease. As a result, it is important to make good lifestyle choices at the earliest age possible.

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When the news broke yesterday that a 35-year old woman suffered a massive stroke, social networking sites and blogs exploded with messages of support and prayers.

As scary as it is to read the statistics, we need to know what we, as young women or people who care for young women, are facing when it comes to stroke risks. Not only do the studies and numbers underline that strokes are a very real, very serious medical issue for our segment of the population, it will also help us to encourage and empower one another to be aware of the symptoms and lower our own risk as much as possible.

Here are few key things every woman needs to know about strokes from shine.com:

The chances of a young woman having a stroke are small but the consequences can be dire. For every 100,000 women of childbearing age, 4.4 will have an ischemic stroke. Ischemic strokes account for 85% of all cases. More than 250,000 women between the ages of 18 and 44 will have some kind of stroke. Stroke is the most common cause of long-term disability.

Mammogram age pushed back to 50

Women’s stroke survival rate is concerning. Sixty percent of women who suffer from a stroke do not survive. Although more men have strokes, they are less likely to die as a result. Young women are more likely to die of a stroke than their chances of dying from both breast cancer and AIDS combined.

Age makes a difference. One study showed that there is a comparable rate of women and men who have strokes between the ages of 35 – 44 and 55 – 64. However, in the 45 – 54 age range, women are twice as likely to have a stroke than men. This startling disparity is thought to be caused by increased waist size and heart disease among women of this age. Researchers say reversing this surge of mid-life strokes for women will require greater attention to women’s cardiovascular health beginning in the mid-30s.

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It’s a general fact that breastfeeding during infancy is better for a baby’s health, but what about yours? According to a new study, the longer a woman breastfeeds, the lower her risk is for heart attack or stroke. Says EurekAlert,

The longer women breastfeed, the lower their risk of heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular disease, report University of Pittsburgh researchers in a study published in the May issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

“Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women, so it’s vitally important for us to know what we can do to protect ourselves,” said Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, M.D., M.S., assistant professor of medicine, epidemiology, and obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. “We have known for years that breastfeeding is important for babies’ health; we now know that it is important for mothers’ health as well.”

According to the study, postmenopausal women who breastfed for at least one month had lower rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, all known to cause heart disease. Women who had breastfed their babies for more than a year were 10 percent less likely to have had a heart attack, stroke, or developed heart disease than women who had never breastfed.

Now, this doesn’t mean you should nurse your children until they’re potty trained, but this article provides good food for thought!

A recent study shows that women who exercise while pregnant have a greater risk of pre-eclampsia, a blood-pressure-raising condition that can lead to stroke or death.

The study, which monitored the exercise habits of 85,000 mothers-to-be, found that jogging for over one hour and 15 minutes a day more than doubled the risk for pre-eclampsia, which affects one in 14 pregnancies and kills 1,000 babies and 10 pregnant women each year.

Women who exercised for seven or more hours a day were more than 78% at risk for the condition.

[From Daily Mail]