Most women think that dying of breast cancer is the biggest risk, but they are actually six times more likely to die of cardiovascular (heart) disease,” says cardiologist and medical director of the Irish Heart Foundation, Dr Angie Brown.
Many women still view a heart attack as mainly being a man’s problem, but about one-third of all women in Ireland will die of cardiovascular disease.
“More women than men die from stroke also,” she says. “Women’s hormones protect them until menopause but after the menopause a woman’s risk of heart disease catches up with that of a man’s,” she says.
In women, the symptoms of a heart attack can be quite vague – an important point to remember.
“A woman may not have had the familiar scenario of a crushing pain in the chest that shoots down the arm. Instead, she could experience nausea, back pain, tiredness, shortness of breath or tightness in the jaw. It can be hard to diagnose, so that’s why heart attack and heart disease can often be missed in women.”
Too many women delay before getting to hospital, she states.
“That’s one of the reasons so many women die from a heart attack. They put off going to the emergency department. One of our most important messages is to advise women who are experiencing these symptoms not to delay. Call 999 – not your GP – and get to hospital.”
Women can be even more vulnerable to heart disease risk factors than men also.
“For example, smoking. Women metabolise nicotine a lot faster than men, so a cigarette will increase a woman’s risk a lot more than it will in a man. The same with diabetes – the risk of a woman having heart disease is increased if she has diabetes.
“Factors such as being overweight, high cholesterol and high blood pressure can become more pronounced too in women. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) doesn’t start overnight, she says, but the good news is that 80% of CVD is preventable. Action now can help you.
“It starts years in advance and it’s usually not the fancy stuff that makes you live longer,” Dr Brown says. “It’s always about the basics: weight, cholesterol, keeping diabetes away and staying off the cigarettes.”
A READER’S EXPERIENCE
Christine McGrath (51) from Dublin had a heart attack in May 2014, two weeks after experiencing pain.
It began in her back and she put it down, initially, to pulling a muscle. Chest pain occurred two weeks later as well as a “dead pain” down her left arm.
“I didn’t think of it being a heart attack,” she says, “even when the pain got worse.”
The following day she had what she describes as “massive pain” in her chest and arm. She went to her GP where an ambulance was called. In hospital she was told she’d probably had a silent heart attack.
Sometime later, in the emergency department, she experienced nausea, dizziness and sweating and began slurring her words.
“I could hardly answer the nurses,” she says. “I felt horrible, like I wanted to get sick. I heard a nurse saying: ‘It’s coming on.’ This time the pain was unbelievable – much worse than anything I’d had before – another heart attack.”
Christine was rushed to theatre where she had four stents inserted. Eight weeks of attending the Cardiac Rehabilitation Centre followed.
Since then, Christine has not smoked and now walks 30 minutes a day. She also eats more healthily and says that she won’t be taking any chances again.
“Even when I took that attack in the casualty department I was still in denial. I thought: ‘This couldn’t be happening to me.’ It is mad to think that you have a massive pain in your chest and you think: ‘Ah sure, I’m not having a heart attack.’ You think it’s indigestion or wind, but it was the pain in my arm that got me into the hospital.”
Did you know?
• Only 15% of women in Ireland over the age of 45 have a healthy cholesterol.• Alcohol can be a hidden source of sugar. There are two teaspoons of sugar in a small glass of wine, five in a glass of port, five in a pint of Guinness, 5.5 in a gin and tonic, and 3.5 in a pint of lager.To download a copy of the Red Alert magazine, visit www.irishheart.ie. You can also ring or email to request a copy and it will be posted out to you. Email heart
month@irishheart.ie or call the Irish Heart Foundation on 01-6685001.
Free blood pressure checks will also be available during September – Heart Month. See the website for details of a roadshow location near you. CL
The financial cost of cancer
Cancer patients and their families are being asked to take part in a nationwide Irish Cancer Society research survey aimed at establishing how cancer affects them financially. The Real Cost of Cancer research will calculate the costs that people face and how specific groups of people, for instance the self-employed or people with children, might be particularly affected.
“If someone gets cancer and is self-employed, young, without private health insurance, not eligible for a medical card or doesn’t have savings, they are left in a very vulnerable position of being unable to manage basic expenses such as heating and travel to hospital for treatment,” says Kathleen O’Meara of the ICS (Irish Cancer Society).
In 2014, €1.5m was given to patients through the ICS financial support scheme for necessities like heat and travel.
Over the past five years, requests for cash support to pay for necessities have increased by 82%, the ICS says.
See www.cancer.ie/cost-of-cancer
Sanctuary for those with cancer
Have you just come through treatment for cancer? Fancy a break in a place that offers emotional support as well as a homely environment, good food, complementary therapies and nurse care if needed?
Cancer Support Sanctuary LARCC in Multyfarnham, Co Westmeath, is the only cancer centre in Ireland offering residential stays. It generally costs €395 for the full-board residential five-day week and those who have gone there speak highly of the benefits. The centre was founded by Ita Bourke who had cancer herself and saw the need for such a holistic facility in Ireland. It moved from Ballinalack to Multyfarnham Abbey in Co Westmeath in 2012. See www.cancersupport.ie or telephone 1850-719-719 for more information.
Do you suffer from chronic pain?
A new online treatment programme, set up by expert psychologists and physiotherapists, aims to help those who suffer from chronic pain.
People with chronic pain (pain which lasts for three months or more) are being sought by NUI Galway’s Centre for Pain Research and the Health Research Board.
The research will involve participants availing of an online session in the comfort of their own home.
The Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) trial is based on emerging clinical science that demonstrates the usefulness of managing chronic pain through mindfulness and psychological wellbeing.
The study is open to people all over Ireland. For further information, contact Dr Christopher Dwyer at NUI Galway, telephone 091-495391 or email painreasearch@nuigalway.ie or see the website www.nuigalway.ie/centre-for-pain-research
Lidl’s health and wellness move
Lidl Ireland has rolled out a health and wellness programme for their staff, in partnership with Laya healthcare.
A double decker bus will arrive at 143 Lidl stores over the next few months and carry out cardiac health screening among the 3,200 members of the Lidl team.
Staff will have a physical check-up that will include an ECG to detect underlying heart conditions. Lidl are investing €350,000 in the initiative that is the largest corporate screening to take place in Ireland. The emphasis is on preventative healthcare.
“We want to invest in wellness and preventative health and live the message that Lidl wants to help all employees to lead healthier lives,” says Paul Martin, head of HR at Lidl.
Michael Lyster, RTÉ Broadcaster and presenter of The Sunday Game, says:“As someone who has had my fair share of heart problems, I am delighted to be part of Ireland’s largest corporate cardiac screening programme. Almost three years ago I was diagnosed with chronic heart failure and this June suffered a massive – and what could have been life ending – heart attack. I have since been fitted with a defibrillator and am delighted to say I am in great health. I cannot stress the importance of cardiac screening enough and compliment both Lidl and Laya Healthcare on the amazing work they are doing. Cardiac screening to detect these problems before they arise really can prove to be the difference between life and death.”
Some 2,500 Lidl employees are also taking part in the Lidl Walk to the Moon Step Challenge 2015. As soon as a total of 325,000km are logged on pedometers and apps by staff, Lidl Ireland will donate €50,000 to Barretstown children’s charity, bringing their total donation to over €900,000.
Most women think that dying of breast cancer is the biggest risk, but they are actually six times more likely to die of cardiovascular (heart) disease,” says cardiologist and medical director of the Irish Heart Foundation, Dr Angie Brown.
Many women still view a heart attack as mainly being a man’s problem, but about one-third of all women in Ireland will die of cardiovascular disease.
“More women than men die from stroke also,” she says. “Women’s hormones protect them until menopause but after the menopause a woman’s risk of heart disease catches up with that of a man’s,” she says.
In women, the symptoms of a heart attack can be quite vague – an important point to remember.
“A woman may not have had the familiar scenario of a crushing pain in the chest that shoots down the arm. Instead, she could experience nausea, back pain, tiredness, shortness of breath or tightness in the jaw. It can be hard to diagnose, so that’s why heart attack and heart disease can often be missed in women.”
Too many women delay before getting to hospital, she states.
“That’s one of the reasons so many women die from a heart attack. They put off going to the emergency department. One of our most important messages is to advise women who are experiencing these symptoms not to delay. Call 999 – not your GP – and get to hospital.”
Women can be even more vulnerable to heart disease risk factors than men also.
“For example, smoking. Women metabolise nicotine a lot faster than men, so a cigarette will increase a woman’s risk a lot more than it will in a man. The same with diabetes – the risk of a woman having heart disease is increased if she has diabetes.
“Factors such as being overweight, high cholesterol and high blood pressure can become more pronounced too in women. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) doesn’t start overnight, she says, but the good news is that 80% of CVD is preventable. Action now can help you.
“It starts years in advance and it’s usually not the fancy stuff that makes you live longer,” Dr Brown says. “It’s always about the basics: weight, cholesterol, keeping diabetes away and staying off the cigarettes.”
A READER’S EXPERIENCE
Christine McGrath (51) from Dublin had a heart attack in May 2014, two weeks after experiencing pain.
It began in her back and she put it down, initially, to pulling a muscle. Chest pain occurred two weeks later as well as a “dead pain” down her left arm.
“I didn’t think of it being a heart attack,” she says, “even when the pain got worse.”
The following day she had what she describes as “massive pain” in her chest and arm. She went to her GP where an ambulance was called. In hospital she was told she’d probably had a silent heart attack.
Sometime later, in the emergency department, she experienced nausea, dizziness and sweating and began slurring her words.
“I could hardly answer the nurses,” she says. “I felt horrible, like I wanted to get sick. I heard a nurse saying: ‘It’s coming on.’ This time the pain was unbelievable – much worse than anything I’d had before – another heart attack.”
Christine was rushed to theatre where she had four stents inserted. Eight weeks of attending the Cardiac Rehabilitation Centre followed.
Since then, Christine has not smoked and now walks 30 minutes a day. She also eats more healthily and says that she won’t be taking any chances again.
“Even when I took that attack in the casualty department I was still in denial. I thought: ‘This couldn’t be happening to me.’ It is mad to think that you have a massive pain in your chest and you think: ‘Ah sure, I’m not having a heart attack.’ You think it’s indigestion or wind, but it was the pain in my arm that got me into the hospital.”
Did you know?
• Only 15% of women in Ireland over the age of 45 have a healthy cholesterol.• Alcohol can be a hidden source of sugar. There are two teaspoons of sugar in a small glass of wine, five in a glass of port, five in a pint of Guinness, 5.5 in a gin and tonic, and 3.5 in a pint of lager.To download a copy of the Red Alert magazine, visit www.irishheart.ie. You can also ring or email to request a copy and it will be posted out to you. Email heart
month@irishheart.ie or call the Irish Heart Foundation on 01-6685001.
Free blood pressure checks will also be available during September – Heart Month. See the website for details of a roadshow location near you. CL
The financial cost of cancer
Cancer patients and their families are being asked to take part in a nationwide Irish Cancer Society research survey aimed at establishing how cancer affects them financially. The Real Cost of Cancer research will calculate the costs that people face and how specific groups of people, for instance the self-employed or people with children, might be particularly affected.
“If someone gets cancer and is self-employed, young, without private health insurance, not eligible for a medical card or doesn’t have savings, they are left in a very vulnerable position of being unable to manage basic expenses such as heating and travel to hospital for treatment,” says Kathleen O’Meara of the ICS (Irish Cancer Society).
In 2014, €1.5m was given to patients through the ICS financial support scheme for necessities like heat and travel.
Over the past five years, requests for cash support to pay for necessities have increased by 82%, the ICS says.
See www.cancer.ie/cost-of-cancer
Sanctuary for those with cancer
Have you just come through treatment for cancer? Fancy a break in a place that offers emotional support as well as a homely environment, good food, complementary therapies and nurse care if needed?
Cancer Support Sanctuary LARCC in Multyfarnham, Co Westmeath, is the only cancer centre in Ireland offering residential stays. It generally costs €395 for the full-board residential five-day week and those who have gone there speak highly of the benefits. The centre was founded by Ita Bourke who had cancer herself and saw the need for such a holistic facility in Ireland. It moved from Ballinalack to Multyfarnham Abbey in Co Westmeath in 2012. See www.cancersupport.ie or telephone 1850-719-719 for more information.
Do you suffer from chronic pain?
A new online treatment programme, set up by expert psychologists and physiotherapists, aims to help those who suffer from chronic pain.
People with chronic pain (pain which lasts for three months or more) are being sought by NUI Galway’s Centre for Pain Research and the Health Research Board.
The research will involve participants availing of an online session in the comfort of their own home.
The Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) trial is based on emerging clinical science that demonstrates the usefulness of managing chronic pain through mindfulness and psychological wellbeing.
The study is open to people all over Ireland. For further information, contact Dr Christopher Dwyer at NUI Galway, telephone 091-495391 or email painreasearch@nuigalway.ie or see the website www.nuigalway.ie/centre-for-pain-research
Lidl’s health and wellness move
Lidl Ireland has rolled out a health and wellness programme for their staff, in partnership with Laya healthcare.
A double decker bus will arrive at 143 Lidl stores over the next few months and carry out cardiac health screening among the 3,200 members of the Lidl team.
Staff will have a physical check-up that will include an ECG to detect underlying heart conditions. Lidl are investing €350,000 in the initiative that is the largest corporate screening to take place in Ireland. The emphasis is on preventative healthcare.
“We want to invest in wellness and preventative health and live the message that Lidl wants to help all employees to lead healthier lives,” says Paul Martin, head of HR at Lidl.
Michael Lyster, RTÉ Broadcaster and presenter of The Sunday Game, says:“As someone who has had my fair share of heart problems, I am delighted to be part of Ireland’s largest corporate cardiac screening programme. Almost three years ago I was diagnosed with chronic heart failure and this June suffered a massive – and what could have been life ending – heart attack. I have since been fitted with a defibrillator and am delighted to say I am in great health. I cannot stress the importance of cardiac screening enough and compliment both Lidl and Laya Healthcare on the amazing work they are doing. Cardiac screening to detect these problems before they arise really can prove to be the difference between life and death.”
Some 2,500 Lidl employees are also taking part in the Lidl Walk to the Moon Step Challenge 2015. As soon as a total of 325,000km are logged on pedometers and apps by staff, Lidl Ireland will donate €50,000 to Barretstown children’s charity, bringing their total donation to over €900,000.
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: