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It's the leading cause of death in women, but heart disease is preventable

It's American Heart Month and doctors stress the importance of raising awareness to save lives.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — During this American Heart Health Month, we’re bringing awareness in an effort to save lives. 

Cardiomyopathy runs in my family. My mother was recently diagnosed with the disease. In fact, I was recently screened for the condition.

Dr. Maureen Smithers is a local cardiologist. She defines what cardiomyopathy literally translates to.

She said, “cardio means heart, ‘myo’ is muffle, and pathy or pathology is a sickness, so cardiomyopathy is a sickness of the heart muscle.”

Stress-induced cardiomyopathy is just one of several heart conditions we cannot ignore.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in one in every five women.

It’s why cardiologists, like Dr. Smithers stress the importance of taking care of your heart health.

She said, “More often, compared to men, women will have atypical symptoms such as nausea, and shortness of breath.”

More signs of heart disease include neck, jaw, shoulder, and upper back pain, as well as abdominal discomfort and even indigestion.

Trust your gut, or heart in this case, if you notice any of these on a day-to-day basis, talk to your doctor.

Now that you know the signs, it’s time to talk prevention.

It’s all about changing habits. 

There are several changes we can make, not requiring medical intervention to protect our heart health, ladies.

Eliminating stress is the big one. Try a better diet.

Dr. Smithers says exercise 150 minutes a week at least. So, 30 minutes, 5 days a week.

Get to bed a little earlier to get those eight hours.

These are all things we can control to improve our heart health. 

American Heart Association Building healthier communities throughout the Mid-South and West Tennessee. Imagine a Mid-South where healthy choices are equitable and accessible, where your interstate exit does not determine your life expectancy. From our surrounding rural areas to our urban cores, we are working for longer lives by making the places where we live, learn, work, play, pray and heal as healthy as can be.

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