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Author:
Johnetta Miner

According to the American Heart Association's Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is still the United States number one killer of men and women of all ethnic groups. The statistical update for 2005 utilized the statistics compiled for 2002, or the most recent year that data are available. Cardiovascular diseases include high blood pressure, arrhythmia, valve disease, congestive heart failure and stroke. Coronary heart disease (CHD) or hardening of the arteries is the largest killer of Americans. There were 494.4 thousand coronary heart disease deaths in 2002 including 179.5 thousand deaths from heart attack. The deaths from CHD included 241.6 thousand females of which 25.9 thousand were Black females. The number of deaths from strokes for Black females was 9.6 thousand.

CVD* Profile: * 1 in 4 females has some form of cardiovascular disease. * Since 1984, the number of CVD deaths for females has exceeded those for males. * In 2002 CVD caused the deaths of 493, 623 females compared with 433,825 males. Females represent 53.2 percent of deaths from CVD. * In the United States in 2002, all cardiovascular diseases combined claim the lives of 493,623 females while all forms of cancer combined to kill 268,503 females. Breast cancer claimed the lives of 41,514 females; lung cancer claimed 67,542. * The 2002 overall death rate from CVD was 320.5. Death rates were ¬--265.6 for white females --368.1 for black females. * *In 2002 cardiovascular disease was the first listed diagnosis of 3,164,000 females discharged from short-stay hospitals. Discharges include people both living and dead. The risk factors for CVD are not only common in the African America community, they are also preventable. These factors include high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol profile, overweight & obesity, abnormal blood glucose and the use of tobacco. Risk factors are preventable at an early age, before manifesting as cardiovascular disease later.

Lifestyle choices for prevention include but are not limited to: * Exercising 30 minutes daily * Eat vegetables, fruits and grains * Eat a low fat, low carbohydrate, low cholesterol, low salt diet * Eat fish, lean meats, poultry * Drink eight glasses of water daily * Eliminate processed foods, sugar, pastry * Reduce life stressors and/or reaction to stressors * Engage in spiritual activities * Give community service Due to the urgent need for ongoing intervention to reverse the trend of increasing numbers of diabetes and obesity, heart disease and stroke, I have partnered with the American Heart Association to provide a community awareness program to help improve the health and wellness of community residents. This program revolves around the National Go Red for Women and Heart Health initiatives. To help raise the awareness of community residents and its members at large, of the need for heart health and the prevention of CAD in women, I encourage women to join me on February 3 by wearing red, in accordance with the American Heart Association's National Go Red for Women Day. In addition I ask women to schedule an appointment for themselves and family members to see their nurse practitioner, internist, or pediatrician. _____________________________ *Source: The American Heart Association

About the author:

Johnetta Miner, NP, is the founder and President of Johnetta Miner, NP. She is a Jin Shin Jyutsu® Physio-Philosophy practitioner and Jin Shin Jyutsu self help instructor. J. Miner, NP has provided primary care to adolescents and women specializing in prenatal, obstetrical and gynecological care. She advocates preventative health care in an integrative manner, combining traditional and western medicine. She can be reached at http://www.jeminer.com

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A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Stroke Report... High-dose statins lower heart attack risk IF you suffer from stable heart disease, a higher dose of the class of cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins might decrease the risk of heart attacks and strokes for you, a new study shows. The study, funded by Pfizer, and called Treating New Targets, or TNT, showed that the top dose of Atorvastatin calcium decreased the risk of heart attacks and strokes in people with stable heart disease, compared to the lowest dose of the same drug. "Atorvastatin calcium is a prescription medicine used with diet to lower cholesterol," said Dr Graham Jackson, a British-based consultant cardiologist, who was in Kuala Lumpur last week. "Lowering cholesterol levels is a proven strategy in reducing the risk of heart attack and heart disease but it is not certain what the appropriate target for lowering cholesterol should be in individuals with known heart disease. This study helped determine that. The results could potentially change the standard of care for patients with CHD." The five-year Treating to New Targets Trial (TNT) involved 10,000 patients with established coronary heart disease and elevated LDL, or "bad" cholesterol levels. The study assessed whether patients on high-dose Atorvastatin calcium who aggressively lowered their LDL-cholesterol levels to well below the current guidelines (100 mg/dL) would experience additional cardiovascular benefits compared to Atorvastatin calcium patients who maintained their LDL-cholesterol at recommended levels. Patients who received 80 ma doses of Atorvastatin calcium had 22 per cent fewer cardiovascular events, including CHD death, non-fatal heart attacks, resuscitated cardiac arrest, and fatal or non-fatal strokes compared to patients who took 10 mg of Atorvastatin calcium. In addition, patients treated with high- dose...