Heart Disease In Women

You may have thought that heart disease is the same in men and women. While it is true that men and women have some of the same risk factors, there are differences in the way that the disease affects each gender's body.

Women tend to develop heart disease about 10 years later than men. They also have a greater chance of dying from a heart attack. In fact heart disease is the number one killer of women.

Another important difference is that women don't usually have extreme chest pain with a heart attack. In fact 64% of women who die suddenly of coronary artery disease had no previous symptoms. When women do have symptoms they are more likely to experience back or jaw pain,, dizziness, lightheadedness, shortness of breath or nausea and vomiting.

With this in mind it is essential that mature women who experience any unusual physical symptoms consult urgently with their physician or go to the nearest emergency room.

Another Cause Of Knee Arthritis

If you are overweight you increase your risk of knee arthritis. How do we know this? The answer is simple. A large study of 353 overweight women reported that those who lost even 5 percent of their weight over 2 and a half years were less likely to develop knee arthritis than those who did not lose weight.

It was also noted that those who had lost the weight had fewer ongoing symptoms than those who remained obese.

This is another reason to take off those excess pounds.

Sleep Apnea Is Very Dangerous For Women

Many women frequently complain that their male companions snore loudly during the night. A concern, of course, is that he might have sleep apnea, a very serious condition. This has long been regarded as a man"s problem, but it seems that women also have high rates of sleep apnea a condition that has been linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, and increased mortality.

Of great concern is that a large study of 1500 initially healthy people it was found that only in women was the condition independently associated with a marker for serious cardiovascular complications.

This study highlights the importance of screening women as well as men for sleep apnea. Gals take care of yourselves as well as your men.