9 essential actions to take care of your heart - Top Santé

For a long time, it was said that women were protected by their hormones. However, heart attack and stroke (cerebrovascular accident) now kill more women than men. In addition, they are struck younger and younger (11% of women who have a heart attack are under 50 years old (compared to 4% 20 years ago) whereas, classically, their disease appears 10 years later than in women. men.

Contraception based on estrogen-progestogens (most pills, patches and vaginal rings) promotes blood clotting and therefore the formation of clots. Even more dangerous: the association of cigarettes and the contraceptive oestrogen-progestogen, in particular after 35 years. Since cardiovascular diseases are generally underestimated in women, they are also less researched and therefore less well treated. "Diagnostic tests are sometimes less reliable, because they have been designed based on male physiology", explains Pr Claire Mounier-Vehier, cardiologist at the Heart Lung Institute of the Lille University Hospital.

Another reason for late treatment: women's symptoms differ from those of men. Thus, almost half the time, instead of manifesting itself by the classic pain in the chest radiating to the left arm and the jaw, the infarction is rather signaled by palpitations, shortness of breath, digestive disorders, etc. Signs still too often attributed to a manifestation of anxiety. In the meantime, every woman can also protect herself by adopting new daily habits.

Why quit smoking?

While the proportion of smokers has fallen in the male population (57% in the 1960s compared to 32% today), the number of regular smokers continues to increase (at age 17: + 30% between 2008 and 2011). In addition, the combination of tobacco and the pill is explosive.

Why monitor your blood pressure?

High blood pressure promotes atheroma (deposit of cholesterol inside the arteries) as well as stroke and heart attack (especially after menopause ).

Why reduce sugar?

Having too much sugar in the blood increases the risk of cardiovascular mortality 3 to 7 times in women (2 to 3 times in men).

Why fight against a sedentary lifestyle?

Insufficiently trained, the heart muscle loses its power. It receives and sends less blood and therefore delivers less oxygen to muscles and organs. Increasingly sedentary, only 53% of women meet the recommendations of the World Health Organization, i.e. 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity activity per week and 1.5 hours of sustained-intensity activity, compared to 70% of men.

What to do: walking, cycling on flat ground, swimming without forcing or any other activity that we like (with the approval of our doctor if we have stopped the sport for a long time) reinforce the heart, breathing, muscles and skeleton, and help ward off other threats such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol.

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