Kelley Stone, left, explains her heart pain symptoms as she and her sister, Karen Stackhouse, review Karen’s catheterization results.

Heart disease. It’s not just for men

October is “Breast Cancer Awareness Month.” Media attention, special events, and even apparel are designed to focus public attention on the disease. It is the second most diagnosed following skin cancer. Cancer Treatment Centers of America estimated there would be 232,670 new cases in 2014. According to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), breast cancer claimed 40,931 lives in 2011. Advancements in research and treatment options are dramatically increasing survival rates. Several national organizations are doing a fantastic job promoting early detection. This attention, of course, leads to early treatment and higher survival rates.   
As vitally important as it is, the media attention given to breast cancer has perhaps lessened the concern that women should also have the number one killer of both men and women in this country. That killer, generally considered to be a “man’s” problem, is heart disease. One in four female deaths is attributed to a heart attack and, according to CDC statistics, claimed 292,188 female lives in 2009. Mathematically this is approximately seven times the death rate for breast cancer.   
Sometimes heart disease in women is silent and not diagnosed until a woman experiences signs or symptoms of a heart attack. The CDC reports two thirds of women who die suddenly of coronary disease had no previous symptoms.
“Our older brother died at age 47 from what was his third heart attack over a two year period,” said Karen Stackhouse. “It never occurred to me that I could or would have one too.” She did, at age 41. In fact, to date, she has suffered a total of three.
A big problem with women and heart disease is a general lack of knowing and recognizing symptoms. “With what was apparently my first attack in November 2008, I thought I was just having severe acid reflux. I ignored it and it finally disappeared,” Stackhouse said.

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