Heart Disease

Although more men die of heart disease than women, females tend to be underdiagnosed, often to the point that it's too late to help them once the condition is discovered.

"The symptoms for women are typical for women, and they are often missed by doctors and the patient themselves," Mark explains. "We often think of symptoms … like chest pain. Some people may have that, but others may just have a little bit of jaw pain, shoulder ache, nausea, vomiting, or shortness of breath."

The American Heart Association lists risk factors for heart disease as:

Increasing age
Male sex (men typically develop heart disease at a younger age)
Heredity (including race). People with family history of the disease have greater risk. So do African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, and some Asian-Americans.
Smoking
High blood cholesterol
High blood pressure
Physical inactivity
Obesity and overweight
Diabetes

Cardiovascular disease Diseases of the heart and the circulation (cardiovascular disease), including heart attacks and stroke, are the main cause of death . Men are affected earlier in life than women and, up to the age of 75, are more likely to die from these conditions.

Changing your lifestyle - particularly stopping smoking if you do - and controlling risk factors such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol can significantly reduce this risk.

How to prevent Heart and cardiovascular disease include:

- Stop smoking
-Increase physical activity: 30 minutes of physical activity a day
- Modify diet: a healthy, balanced diet including five portions of fruit and vegetables a day
- Proper body weight for your frame: maintaining a healthy weight
- Reduce alcohol consumption
- Blood pressure and cholesterol level checked and treated if necessary
-Reducing stress levels
These lifestyle changes may also reduce the risk of other diseases such as lung cancer and diabetes.

Breast Cancer

Experts say the fear of breast cancer can sometimes be exaggerated, stopping women from going to their doctors for screening, or pushing women to make rash decisions about mastectomy, when it may it may not be necessary.

List of risk factors for breast cancer:

Increasing age, Genes. Nearly 5% to 10% of breast cancer is linked to mutations in certain genes (most commonly, the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes), Family history of the disease, Personal history of the disease, Race. White women have a slightly greater risk of getting breast cancer compared with African-American women. Yet African-Americans have a greater chance of dying from this disease, Earlier abnormal breast biopsy, Earlier chest radiation, Early onset of menstruation (before age 12) or menopause after age 55, Not having children, Medication use, such as diethylstilbestrol (DES), Too much alcohol, Obesity

Preventing Breast and other Cancer

Don't smoke. Using any type of tobacco puts you on a collision course with cancer. Avoiding exposure to secondhand smoke counts, too.
Maintain a healthy weight. Losing excess pounds — and keeping them off — may lower the risk of various types of cancer.
Get moving. In addition to helping you control your weight, physical activity on its own may lower the risk of certain types of cancer.
Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Although making healthy selections at the grocery store and at mealtime can't guarantee cancer prevention, it may help reduce your risk.
Limit alcohol. If you choose to drink alcohol, do so only in moderation. The risk of various types of cancer — including cancer of the colon, lung, kidney and liver — increases with the amount of alcohol you drink and the length of time you've been drinking regularly.
Take early detection seriously. Consult your doctor for regular cancer screenings.

Osteoporosis and Womens Health

Osteoporosis threatens 44 million Americans, of which 68% are women, reports the National Osteoporosis Foundation.That's because bodies build up most of bone mass until age 30. Then new bone stops forming and the focus is on maintenance of old bone. It is never too late to keep bones strong and avoid fractures. Risk factors for osteoporosis include:

Female sex, Increasing age, Small, thin-boned frame, Ethnicity. White and Asian women have the greatest risk, Family history, Sex hormones. Infrequent menstrual cycles and estrogen loss due to menopause may increase risk, Anorexia, Diet low in calcium and vitamin D, Medication use, particularly glucocorticoids or some anticonvulsants, Sedentary lifestyle, Smoking, Excessive alcohol

Preventing Osteoporosis

•Drink your milk. Low-fat and skim milk, nonfat yogurt, and reduced-fat cheeses (except cottage cheese) are healthy sources of the calcium you need to build strong bones. Fortified milk products also have the vitamin D needed for proper calcium absorption.
•Go fish. Canned sardines and salmon, eaten with their bones, are also rich in calcium. Mackerel and other oily fish are rich in vitamin D.
•Eat greens with gusto. Leafy green vegetables have lots of calcium, plus the potassium and vitamin K you need to block calcium loss from bones. Fill up on broccoli, bok choy, kale, Swiss chard, and turnip greens. Bananas also supply a potassium boost.
•Serve yourself soy. Soy contains not only calcium but also plant estrogens, and it seems to help maintain bone density. Substitute soy flour for regular flour in recipes from pancakes to cupcakes. Nibble on roasted soybean “nuts” instead of peanuts. Reach for soy cereal and soy cheeses. Make malts and smoothies with soy milk.
•Don’t overdo protein. High protein intake can raise your excretion of calcium. Limit yourself to the RDA of 50 grams daily for women, 63 grams for men. Many Americans eat twice that much. •Limit caffeine. Limit your caffeine intake to the equivalent of three cups of coffee a day, since caffeine causes the body to excrete calcium more readily.
•Eat your onions. In male rats, those fed one gram of dry onion daily experienced a 20% reduction in the bone breakdown process that can lead to osteoporosis — slightly more than with the drug calcitonin.

Increase Physical activiy

•Get with the program. A regular program of weight-bearing exercise helps stop further bone loss and may be one of the few ways to build bone as you age. By improving your posture, balance, and flexibility, it also reduces your risk of falls that can break fragile bones. Exercise for at least 30 minutes three times a week. Try walking, running, weight lifting, stair climbing, tennis, or volleyball. Swimming won’t do; your bones and muscles must work against gravity for a bone-building effect.

•Choose calcium. Both women and men need 1,000 mg of elemental calcium a day during midlife. The need rises to 1,500 to 2,000 mg daily after menopause in women and after age 65 in men. Most people don’t get enough in their diets, so supplements are recommended. Because the body can absorb only a limited amount of calcium at once, take supplements in two or three doses during the day, preferably with meals. Make sure the supplement contains vitamin D, which facilitates the absorption of calcium. Lifestyle Factors •Quit smoking. Among 80-year-olds, smokers have up to 10% lower bone-mineral density, which translates into twice the risk of spinal fractures and a 50% increase in risk of hip fracture. One in eight hip fractures in women is linked to long-term cigarette use. What’s more, fractures heal slower in smokers, and are more apt to heal improperly. •Avoid excessive alcohol. Too much alcohol prevents your body from absorbing calcium properly. Limit yourself to one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men. •Don’t let depression linger. Depression causes your body to produce cortisol, a stress-related hormone that saps minerals from bones. One study showed that women with clinical depression had lower bone densities in their hips and spines. So see a doctor or therapist for treatment.

Hypertension High Blood Pressure

How to prevent High Blood Pressure

Lose excess weight.

Choose a diet that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables. Keep total fat low and avoid foods that are high in saturated fats and cholesterol. Having a healthy heart will help prevent blood pressure.

- Reduce Salt intake.

Salt and sodium can increase blood pressure, so it’s important to read food labels. The U.S. guidelines suggest limiting sodium intake to no more than 2,400 mg, or about 1 teaspoon of salt each day. If you eat canned, processed, and convenience foods, buy the brands that are lower in sodium. If you salt your food at the table, try using less, or none. It may take a little while to get used to the new flavors, but you may find that food tastes better when you use less salt. Fast food can contain a lot of sodium, so if you eat fast food choose items that are lower in salt and sodium. Reducing your salt intake will help to prevent high blood pressure. - Drink alcohol in moderation.

The U.S. guidelines recommend that men have no more than 2 drinks per day, and women have no more than one alcoholic beverage per day. -.Increase your physical activity exercise.

Exercise is a key factor in preventing high blood pressure. If you get very little exercise now, start slowly and work your way up to at least 30 minutes of a moderate-level activity, such as brisk walking or bicycling, each day. If time is a factor, you’ll still benefit by breaking the 30 minute daily exercise periods into 10 or 15 minute sessions.

- Stop smoking.

Research shows that smoking increases your chances of developing a heart disease, stroke, stroke, peripheral arterial disease, and several forms of cancer.

Depression and Womens Health

Sometimes, hormonal changes can also trigger the condition, particularly after pregnancy (postpartum) or around menopause.

Risk factors for depression include:

A previous depressive episode, Family history of depression, History of heart problems, Serious chronic illness, Marital problems, Substance abuse, Use of drugs that could trigger depression, such as medicines for high blood pressure or seizures, A stressful life event, such as job loss or death, Diseases that could trigger depression, such as vitamin deficiency and thyroid disease, Recent serious illness or surgery, Childhood history of physical or sexual abuse, Being a worrier or being overly anxious, Having an eating disorder or an anxiety disorder

Dealing with Depression

Depression and Exercise

•Exercise increase self-esteem.
•You will feel relax from your worries.
•It reduces some symptoms, which may keep your mood good.
•Reduces stress and helps in fighting against depression and anxiety.
•In depression, sleeping disorder is also a problem. But exercise helps you sleep better.
Thus little exercise is an excellent way to reduce stress.

Autoimmune Diseases

According to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA), about 75% of autoimmune diseases occur in women. By themselves, each disease appears to be uncommon -- except for diabetes, thyroid disease, and lupus -- but as a group, the disorders make up the fourth-largest cause of disability among American women.

It is not known what causes the body to turn on itself, but genetic, hormonal, and environmental factors are suspects.

Since autoimmune diseases are not very well understood, pinpointing specific risk factors is difficult. Symptoms can also be nonspecific, hampering proper diagnosis. However, if you know something is wrong with you or a loved one, it's important to become an active health advocate.

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