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Heart Disease: Not Just a Man's Concern
Michelle Mann, The Enterprise Ledger, Ala.
Posted Feb 9, 2010
"Life is full of choices and each person should take ownership for the choices they make," was the message Dr. Beverly Jordan brought to more than 150 people attending the Healthy Woman lunch Thursday in Enterprise.
"The 'Go Red for Women' campaign hopes that by showing the many faces of heart diseases women can connect with each other to make choices to reduce their own personal risk of heart disease," she said.
Diet, exercise and weight loss are all personal choices that impact a person's health. "We've all made some bad life choices," Jordan said. "But there is no reason that you cannot start over each new day with good choices."
"Obesity doubles the risk of breast cancer," she said. "Obesity also lowers your survival rate." Improved eating habits and exercise lead to weight loss, said Jordan, calling loss of one pound a week a reasonable goal. "More women die of cardiovascular disease than the next five causes of death combined, including cancer," she said.
Some fat is necessary in a person's diet, said Jordan. "But figures released last night showed that Alabama is now ranked number one in obesity."
Thirty minutes of exercise five times a week is important, Jordan said. "Heart disease is not just a man's disease and factors leading to heart disease can start in young women developing over time."
"Even if they recognize the symptoms, women hesitate to call 911 and consequently get to the hospital 40 to 60 minutes later than men," Jordan said. "Men have a better one-year-past-heart-attack survival rate than women."
"'Go Red for Women' is dedicated to building awareness about heart disease among women," said Jordan. More about the "Go Red Makeover" that can change lives can be found at the American Heart Association's Web site http://www.goredforwomen.org. Date: Feb 5, 2010
To see more of The Enterprise Ledger or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.eprisenow.com/.
Copyright © 2010, The Enterprise Ledger, Ala.
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