Heart Disease in Women: 2005 Update
By Lynne Perry-Bottinger, MD

Learn more about the disease and how you can defend yourself against it.

Prevent coronary artery disease by controlling the risk factors. Follow a low-fat, low-carbohydrate, low-cholesterol, low-salt diet. Exercise at least seven days a week. Stop smoking. Drink no more than one alcoholic drink daily.

In addition, other preventive steps you can take include: tea and foods high in B and E vitamins, such as green leafy vegetables and fish can reduce heart disease in women; low dose aspirin and statins can reduce heart disease risk; regular ECG stress test may not give the correct information about your heart; further testing such as stress echocardiogram, stress thallium, or cardiac catheterization may be required; Ultrafast CT and MRI are only pre-screening tests. Do not leave the ER without EKG and cardiac enzyme test (CPK or troponin).
Published 01/01/2006