Improving Heart Health & Symptoms To Watch For During American Heart Month

February is American Hearth Month and medical experts are encouraging all people, especially women to focus on cardiovascular health.

The American Heart Association says every 34 seconds someone in the US dies of Cardiovascular diseases. Cardiologist Dr. Augustus Caine Jr. joined News On 6 this week to talk about the data and ways to stay heart healthy.

Tatum Guinn: The CDC says nearly half of women don't know that heart disease is the leading cause of death for them. And experiencing a delay and recognizing those symptoms is a really big factor. Why women what are the symptoms that we need to look out for?

Dr. Caine: Sure, the symptoms to look out for would be chest discomfort or pressure. And the key is that it's brought on often with exertional you know, motions like walking going upstairs or emotional stress in women a lot of times you know, the symptoms are explained away for, you know, stress or depression or other things and we really want to reach out to the community and let them know if they're having, you know, pain in their chest or pressure with activity, pain with emotional stress, of shortness of breath with exertion, they should call their primary care provider, see a cardiologist

Guinn: Always err on the side of caution if you think something might be going on.

Dr. Caine: Exactly.

Guinn: If somebody has a family history of heart disease, what are some of the things that they need to be doing now before they have symptoms?

Dr. Caine: Sure, sure. So family history, a history of heart attack or heart failure, in a parent less than sixty years old. You should definitely see a primary care physician and work on risk factors that can lead to you know, heart disease. Those risk factors would be high blood pressure, diabetes, you know, elevated cholesterol, tobacco use, and so forth.