Heart disease kills an estimated 630,000 Americans each year. It’s the leading cause of death for both men and women.

In the United States, the most common type of heart disease is coronary artery disease (CAD), which can lead to a heart attack. You can greatly reduce your risk for CAD through lifestyle changes and, in some cases, medication.

But the good news is…in most cases, heart disease is optional!  You can absolutely lower your risk and even prevent the development of heart disease.  Whether you already have heart disease or not…you can control your disease, or even prevent disease from being part of your life by making some changes in your life. Here are a few tips:

• Watch your weight.
• Quit smoking and stay away from secondhand smoke.
• Control your cholesterol and blood pressure.
• If you drink alcohol, drink only in moderation.
• Get active and eat healthy.
• Talk to your doctor about taking aspirin every day if you are a man over the age of 45, or a woman past menopause.
• Manage stress.
• Eat vegetables, fruit, whole grains and lean proteins.
• Watch your portions

A healthy life can be yours, but you have to make the choice, and take the actions to make it so.

One of the questions I still hear in my practice is, “Why do I need to be concerned with my heart? Women don’t get heart disease like men”.  So, let’s talk about that for a moment.

The truth is heart disease is the #1 cause of death in women over the age of 50. About one in four women dies of heart disease. And the older we get, the more likely we will suffer from heart disease. While both men and women can suffer from heart attacks, we as women are more likely to die from them.

The good news is, most heart disease (and Type II Diabetes) is preventable and that’s what I try to focus on with my patients.  This is good news as more and more people are interested in how to prevent disease so they can live long healthy lives (not to mention, reduce their health care expenditures!).

Here are some steps you can take to reduce your risk of heart disease.

Know your blood pressure. High blood pressure has been called the silent killer for good reason.  Hypertension (high blood pressure), over a longer period of time, can damage the heart. Yet, most people don’t know they are walking about with hypertension. You want to make sure you are getting it checked regularly. It’s easy today with the availability of blood pressure cuffs you can use at the pharmacy. If you have readings above 130 on the top and 80 on the bottom, you’ll want to see your health care provider.

Still smoking? You need to quit. Not cut down…you need to quit. Smoking is a major cause of many illnesses and cancers – and it’s totally preventable. There is lots of assistance to be had, all you have to do is make the decision to quit. Check out www.smokefree.gov and www.quitnet.com

Maintain a healthy weight. Yes, I know it’s easier said than done, but it can be done. Start by adding more fruits, vegetables and whole grains to your diet. Get rid, as much as possible, of fast foods, fried foods, and “junk food”. At the same time, you’ll want to increase your physical activity with the goal of at least 30 minutes of walking daily.

Get tested. You’ve got to know your blood sugar level as well as your cholesterol. This should be a fasting test (water only for 10 hours before having your blood drawn) and should include a lipid panel (total cholesterol, good and bad cholesterol and triglyceride level) and a glucose (sugar) test. Abnormalities in these tests can increase your risk of heart disease.

Stressed? Stress can wreak all sorts of havoc in our bodies. While all of us have varying degrees of stress in our lives, we can learn to channel it and lower the effects on our bodies. Talk with your friends, keep a journal, exercise…whatever works for you is good.

Drink alcohol? You’ve got to limit the amounts you are drinking. Excessive alcohol use has been implicated in multiple issues that can contribute to heart disease. What are the healthy limits? One 12 ounce beer, one 5 ounce glass of wine, or one 1.5 ounce shot of hard liquor per day.

You can do this! While this sounds like a long to-do list, it’s easy to begin to incorporate some of these changes in your life.  Make it fun, get your families and friends involved and start reaping the benefits of a healthier life and healthier aging!

Here is another reason to keep your weight under control.  Those extra pounds are not worth losing brain cell function! See what you think about this new study.

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Healthy women who put on weight between the premenopausal and postmenopausal years risk losing nerve cells in the brain, research suggests.

Gaining weight is a “highly modifiable” risk factor that may be targeted to prevent or slow the progression of potentially harmful age-related changes in the brain, the University of Pittsburgh-based study team suggests in the June issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.

Dr. Isabella Soreca and colleagues analyzed brain imaging data obtained from 48 healthy older women who were tracked over a 20-year period as part of the longitudinal epidemiological Pittsburgh Healthy Women Study.

They report in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine that an increase in body weight during the transition to menopause and beyond was “uniquely associated” with a lower volume of gray matter (the portion of the brain containing nerve cell bodies).

Soreca and colleagues say this finding is “particularly noteworthy” given that these were healthy older women who entered menopause naturally and had no history of cardiovascular disease or psychiatric disease and none were obese in mid-life or later on.

“Women may be particularly motivated to maintain a healthy weight in the postmenopausal years, should it be confirmed that weight gain causes alteration in brain function that is important to quality of life,” Soreca and colleagues conclude.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE56F5I820090716

These women, ages 48-71 have learned that Hip Hop dancing will keep them healthy.

Can you do some of these moves?

I know…it’s not a topic to talk about in polite company…but it’s a topic that needs to come out of the closet.

Millions of women (and men) experience incontinence. Urinary incontinence (UI) is the involuntary loss of urine. For some women, it’s a few drops when they cough, run or lift. For others, it may be a large amount. This is called “stress urinary incontinence”.  Some women get an urge to urinate, but before they can get to the bathroom, their bladders lets loose. (This is called “urge incontinence”, many women know this as “gotta go”. This is the once we all see on TV these days.)  Many women will experience both.

UI can range from slightly bothersome to totally debilitating. It can affect a women’s professional, public and family life. It often keeps women from going out and enjoying themselves. Even worse, it can affect a woman’s close relationships, as UI can occur during sexual activity. Needless to say…there is tremendous emotional distress.

While UI affects men, it is twice as common in women. It’s thought that pregnancy, childbirth and menopause play a role as well as the female anatomy. Causes for both men and women can include neurological injury, birth defects, stroke, MS, or physical problems associated with aging.

Younger women can and do experience UI, though it’s far more common in the older woman. But before you jump to conclusions…it does NOT occur in all older women. In other words, incontinence is not an inevitable part of aging.

So what can be done about this?  First of all, if you are experiencing UI, please speak to your health care provider about possible solutions. A good assessment will guide your treatment. While many people will suggest surgery, the latest guidelines are encouraging providers to try conservative measures and medications (if indicated) first.  In our office, we are launching The Uro-Health Program which will offer women evaluations and options for non-surgical treatment.

Are there things you can do to reduce your risk of UI? Absolutely. While I’ll be writing about this in future articles, you can start with watching the foods and fluids you consume, get the proper exercise, perform Kegals (but you need to do them correctly) and maintain a healthy weight. More tips are forthcoming…so keep an eye on this blog. Comments? Please leave them below.

 Here is an excellent example of healthy aging!

At an age when most people are settling into a retirement home, one Waikiki woman shows no signs of slowing down, as she prepares for her fifth Honolulu marathon.

She’s known to many in the community as the “Gladyator.” And this year, as she celebrates her 90th birthday, she hopes to prove, that age is only a number.

At 90-years-old, Glady Burrill is probably more active than most people half her age.

“I do a lot of walking. Sunday, I did 20 miles, Tuesday, I did 10 and yesterday I did 8. I keep at it, it’s part of my life and it’s not much of a change from what I normally do.”

You’ll find the full story here.

Okay, so it’s not exactly about aging, but it is about health.  We all need down time, and here is a way you may be able to get it for free. 

Joanie Winberg is the found of the National Association of Divorce for Women. She has put together a cruise for women you are Single Again (through whatever means) in 2009. And here is the best part..you  (or a friend) can actually win your trip.  Hurry up and check it out…deadline for entry is November 15th.   Please let her know you saw it here!

It’s that time of year again when we see pink ribbons everywhere. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This is something I talk to women about all year…not just in October.  I’d like to share a few tips that I discuss with women in my practice.

1.  The purpose of breast exams and mammograms is to find a problem early. Early is good. Early detection of cancer means you have a far better chance of a good outcome.

2.  Breast self exams ARE important.  You don’t need to be able to identify what you are feeling…you only need to be able to tell if it’s a bump/lump other than your usual lumps and bumps.

3.  Some nipple drainage is benign, some is not. Always discuss this with your health care provider.

4.  You are never too young to start doing self breast exams.

5.  Current recommendations for mammograms is to start at age 40. HOWEVER, if you are a woman with high risk factors, you may be started in your 30′s or even younger.

6.  See your health care provider for a clinical breast exam at least annually. Do your self breast exam monthly.

7.  Stop smoking, exercise, eat a high fiber diet and maintain a healthy weight. Yes, it really does impact your breast healthy.

Finally… If you are a woman without insurance, visit the OlderWiserWomen ® Breast Health Center for links to programs that offer reduced price/free mammograms. You’ll find other more information about breast health there as well.

This is a complaint I literally hear on a daily basis. While sometimes there is something structurally wrong in the back, often times there is little to offer someone outside of exercise, massage, acupuncture, physical therapy and medication. While most people get better, there is a significant portion of people who go on to develope chronic back pain. In my practice, it’s one of the most frustrating ailments to treat.

But…I have hope again. I stumbled across a new book (to me anyway) that offers guidance on treating the back. Esther Gokhale an acupuncturists and former victim of back pain, found a way to address the issue to reduce and/or remove back pain. She focuses on posture and decompression of the spine in order to achieve this. She outlines this information in her book 8 Steps to a Pain Free Back.

The reviews are excellent. I’m already recommending this to by patients.

I see lots of people every day in my practice. Most of them have health issues, and just want to maintain their current status. Only a few really want to become healthy.  But the ones that do, inspire me to do my best work…not only with them, but with myself.

Case in point. Over the last year, I watched a woman lose over 100 lbs – her starting weight was 399 pounds. This is a woman with many physical and mental health problems, and frankly, I didn’t think she would be able to stick with a plan. However, she asked for assistance and I gave it.

My immediate pleasure at watching her lose a few pounds soon gave way to pure astonishment as month after month the pounds she lost added up. I became her most vocal cheer leader. I cried with her when her loses added up to 100 lbs. Over time we have reduced the amount of medication she is on her blood pressure and her diabetes. As she continues along her path, I fully expect that we will be able to discontinue many of her medications. Obviously…she is doing super!

Watching her change prompted me to reevaluate my own health status. How many extra pounds have I added to my frame in the past 10 years? How come I was not following my own advice about diet and exercise? The truth is, I was blaming it on not having enough time in my life to properly prepare meals, eating on the run instead of sitting down to a meal, and working all hours instead of finding 30 minutes to exercise.

This past June, as I marked another year, I decided it was time for this health care provider to take her own advice and take care of herself.  Since June, I’ve released 36 lbs (and counting!). My diet is far healthier and I’m exercising on a regular basis (though not as much as I should). It’s a process I will continue to perfect. My goal is maintain and improve my health as I get older. I want to avoid all medications, all illnesses. 

Since I quietly started on my own journey this past June, I have been amazed at the new people who have joined my practice seeking health. People who want to age in a way they will have health and the energy to live an active life. As one woman put it, she wants to have enough sass to be a sassy older woman.

It’s all so exciting. I am currently putting a coaching program together to work with even more women who want to get healthy and who want to grow into their own sassiness. 

Let me here what your greatest needs are in terms of your health. I’m listening.