How To Talk To Your Doctor: Statins, Side Effects, and Heart Attacks

This post was sponsored by Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. Personal opinions and thoughts are my own. As a heart attack survivor, a good relationship with my doctors has been very important. Over the years I’ve had challenges with medication side effects, worried about interactions with other medications, and had other frank conversations about what it…

New Cardiovascular Prevention Guidelines

What do the new heart disease prevention guidelines mean? The public health impact of cardiovascular disease motivated the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology to release updated guidelines for the prevention of heart disease and stroke. The goal is to help Americans reduce risk and live longer healthier lives. The guidelines result…

Every Beat of Your Heart

Resting Heart Rate and Your Health When was the last time you checked your resting heart rate? Try it: When you wake up tomorrow morning, before you swing your feet out of bed, take your pulse for 10 seconds.  Multiply your 10 second count by 6 and you have your Resting Heart Rate.  Here are…

What about family history? Busy Woman’s Guide answers your questions

The men in my family all have heart disease and high blood pressure, but the women are all healthy. I’m safe, right? Sorry, I’m afraid not. Taking all other risk factors into account, if you have a close family member with heart disease, your risk nearly doubles. ALL family members, both male and female, factor…

Blame Your Parents! Busy Woman’s Guide to a Healthy Heart

Here’s what you need to know about family history and heart disease. Taking all other risk factors into account, if you have a close family member with heart disease, your risk nearly doubles. While this news may be a bit frightening, it is good news in one way. Even if you do not have symptoms…

Cholesterol: Good or Bad? Busy Woman’s Guide to a Healthy Heart

Here is what you need to know about cholesterol: Cholesterol isn’t necessarily a bad thing. A soft, waxy substance naturally found in your body, “good” cholesterol (or HDL) is needed to digest fat, make hormones such as estrogen and progesterone, and produce vitamin D in the skin. You want your HDL to be high. However,…

Is Estrogen Your Friend? Busy Woman’s Guide to a Healthy Heart

Here’s what you need to know about estrogen and your heart While doctors are not completely sure how estrogen works, it is clear younger women enjoy some protection from heart disease most likely related to estrogen’s role in the control of cholesterol. As women age, the amount of estrogen decreases and their risk of heart…

Silent Killer! Busy Woman’s Guide to a Healthy Heart

Here’s what you need to know about blood pressure About one in every three Americans has high blood pressure. There are no symptoms and only just over half of the people with high blood pressure receive treatment. Often called the “silent killer,” uncontrolled high blood pressure can cause stroke, heart attack, heart failure, and kidney…