Are You At Risk?

This month we’ve been talking about heart disease and some of the ways it shows up, especially for women. Much of the existing heart disease in the US can be prevented through proper nutrition and lifestyle habits. There are some risk factors we all need to manage to keep ourselves healthy but a few changes can be profound in protecting your heart.

According to the Mayo Clinic, there are risk factors we all need to be aware of. Some of them are within our control, others not so much.

Risk factors

Women have risk factors unrelated to the classic male model of heart disease, but we also can be affected by some of the same risk factors as men.

• high cholesterol, high blood pressure and obesity – as with men, if any or all of these factors are part of your life, your risk of developing heart disease is increased
• diabetes – this poses a bigger threat for women than it does for men. When diabetes is present, the way we feel pain changes, so the likelihood of having a ‘silent heart attack’ is increased
• stress and depression – these conditions have a more dramatic effect on women than they do on men.Depression makes it difficult to maintain normal healthy lifestyle habits, increasing risk even more
• smoking – this is much more detrimental to women than it is for men in developing heart disease
• sedentary lifestyle – being physically inactive puts you at greater risk for developing heart disease and women are more likely than men to be inactive
• menopause – once estrogen levels begin to drop off as women age, our risk of developing cardiovascular disease increases
• pregnancy – if a woman develops high blood pressure and gestational diabetes during pregnancy, she is at higher risk for developing these conditions long-term and also heart disease
• family history – if a woman has a family history of heart disease, her chances of developing it herself are higher than a man’s
• inflammatory diseases – autoimmune diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis are more likely to trigger heart disease as well in both men and women

As I mentioned before, 80% of heart disease is preventable with simple lifestyle and nutrition changes. Make these changes and you will decrease your risk of developing heart disease.

Prevention

• quit smoking
• exercise daily
• maintain healthy weight
• eat a healthy balanced diet
• manage stress
• limit alcohol
• manage related health conditions
• take medications as prescribed

Heart disease comes in many forms. You can do a lot to prevent or manage it through medical intervention, dietary changes and lifestyle improvements.

If you need help navigating this path, please feel free to get on my calendar for a free consultation. Click here to schedule your ‘no strings attached’ call.

My Story

Since June 2019, I decided to hold myself accountable for walking my talk. Several years ago, I was able to take off 135 pounds and essentially save my own life. I regained some of that weight in the last couple of years and I’m working my way back down. I’ve lost over 40 pounds since I began in June and have exercised nearly every day since August.

If you choose to join me on this journey, I hope I am able to impart some nutritional and lifestyle wisdom. Even though I may have gone off the rails temporarily I can still share some of my first hand experience as well as my acquired knowledge and training to help you make the right changes to live your best life.

Do You Want Help?

Would you like to have more energy, lose weight, sleep better, and balance your hormones? I am launching another  5 week Sugar Detox Program beginning soon.

This program is open to anyone who:

• would like to get control of their sugar cravings
• feel better
• have an abundance of energy
• and an overall increase in well-being.

Aren’t you tired of feeling bloated and lethargic?

If you continue to follow the path you’re on, where will it lead you in six months? a year? Isn’t it time to take a different approach?

What you have done in the past hasn’t worked or at least has not stuck. I can help you change that. Click here for a free consultation. We’ll discuss your challenges and your goals for the coming year and see if we’re a good fit. You have nothing to lose except those nasty cravings.

As a health coach, I work with women who are facing serious health challenges like heart disease, metabolic syndrome and diabetes or who have been diagnosed as having a precursor to a serious health issue such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or high blood sugar. I help them make food and lifestyle changes so they can get healthy, live longer and enjoy a fuller, happier, more energetic life.

If you would like to have a free consultation about the health challenges you have and the improvements you would like to see in your health, click here to schedule a no strings attached call.