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Women's Health
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women, but you don't need to accept that as your fate. With preventive women's health care from David Harnick, MD, and Raymonda Rastegar, MD, at Heartwise Cardiology, you can prolong your life and maintain optimal vitality with an early risk assessment and a personalized lifestyle plan to prevent heart disease. To learn more about how they can support your heart health, call the Murray Hill or Upper East Side office in Manhattan, New York, or book an appointment online today.
Women's Health Q & A
What should I know about women's health and heart disease?
For many years, heart disease was primarily a problem affecting men. That may help explain why only half of all women realize that cardiovascular disease causes more deaths than cancer.
You should also be aware that the problem is pervasive. One in 16 women over the age of 20 has coronary artery disease, a condition that occurs when the arteries serving your heart become clogged with cholesterol.
Though age increases your risk, the chronic diseases that cause heart problems — high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and being overweight — begin long before you have symptoms of heart problems.
All chronic diseases develop gradually, seldom causing any symptoms until they reach an advanced stage. With women's health care at Heartwise Cardiology, your provider creates a plan that prevents these diseases or catches them at an early stage when treatment can slow down their progress.
What risk factors affect women's health?
Women have all of the same risk factors for heart disease as men. These factors include the chronic diseases mentioned above, your age, and lifestyle issues.
However, women have risk factors that don't affect men. A few examples include:
- Menopause
- Polycystic ovary syndrome
- Hypertension during pregnancy
- Type II diabetes during pregnancy
- Autoimmune diseases
Though men get autoimmune diseases, women have a much higher chance of developing diseases that are associated with heart problems, such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
Medications containing hormones like birth control pills add to your chance of heart disease if you already have other risks like high blood pressure.
What services will I receive with women's health care?
Heartwise Cardiology offers comprehensive preventive cardiology care, as well as advanced diagnostics and treatment for cardiovascular disease.
During your first visit, they review your medical history, examine your heart, and perform a thorough risk assessment. A risk assessment considers all of the factors that increase your chance of developing heart disease.
Your provider may also run bloodwork and perform basic diagnostic tests to determine if you already have early signs of chronic diseases.
The services you receive may include any of the following:
- Nutritional counseling
- Dietary planning
- Exercise program
- Stress reduction
- Weight loss management
- Smoking cessation program
- Chronic disease management
- Medication management
Your prevention plan always begins with lifestyle changes as needed. The foods you eat, the amount of exercise you get, and your body weight significantly affect your risk for heart disease.
If you’re ready to protect your heart health, schedule an appointment by calling Heartwise Cardiology or booking an appointment online today.