heart attacks

Heart attacks preventable in women

Women can reduce the risk of heart attacks by eating right, staying physically active and keeping way from alcohol and smoking.

Heart disease is one of the most important causes of death and disability in women. As they approach menopause, women become more susceptible to heart disease. Simple changes in dietary habits and lifestyle, can reduce this risk, e.g, consuming a healthy diet and moderate amounts of alcohol, along with three lifestyle factors: nonsmoking, waist-hip ratio less than 0.85, and being physically active [at least 40 minutes of daily walking or bicycling and 1 hour of weekly exercise].

To assess the risk of heart attacks and its prevention in women, researchers at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm studied the dietary and lifestyle patterns of 24,444 postmenopausal women. At the beginning of the study, none of the women had heart disease, diabetes or cancer. By analysing information contained in food frequency questionnaires, in which the women noted how often they ate 96 different foods, four major dietary patterns were identified. They were: healthy [vegetables, fruits and legumes]; Western/Swedish [red meat, processed meat, poultry, rice, pasta, eggs, fried potatoes and fish]; alcohol [wine, liquor, beer and some snacks]; and sweets [sweet baked goods, candy, chocolate, jam and ice cream]. Other information, including family history of heart disease, education level, physical activity, and body measurements, was also collected. These women were followed up for 6 years during which 308 heart attacks were identified.

The results showed that women who maintained a healthy diet - eating lots of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, fish and legumes - and drank a moderate amount of alcohol had a 57-percent lower risk of having heart attack, compared to women who maintained a less healthy diet and lifestyle pattern. The women combining the healthy diet and moderate drinking with the three healthy lifestyle factors [not smoking, being physically active and avoiding too much weight gain] had a 92-percent lower risk of heart attack.

Thus, by making simple changes in their diets and lifestyle, women can avoid the risk of heart disease.