Health
Heart health risk factors for women over age 50: 'Don't ignore new symptoms,' experts warn
February is American Heart Month — a good time to know what’s at stake in terms of your cardiovascular health.
For women over age 50, a few factors regarding heart health deserve a little more attention, according to experts.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in women, according to Northwell Health cardiologist Dr. Stacey Rosen, who is based in New York.
CARDIOLOGIST ANSWERS SOME OF THE TOP HEART HEALTH QUESTIONS ON GOOGLE FOR AMERICAN HEART MONTH
Nearly 45% of women over 20 years old are actually living with some form of CVD, Rosen told Fox News Digital.
Gender-specific risk factors include menstrual history and adverse pregnancy outcomes, she said.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women, according to experts. For American Heart Month in February, there are risk factors women need to know about — and how to handle them. (iStock)
“Other sex-specific risk factors include anxiety and depression, increased risk due to certain treatments for breast cancer, and rheumatologic conditions,” she said.
Dr. John Whyte, chief medical officer of WebMD and based in Washington, D.C., also told Fox News Digital about some primary risk factors for women age 50 and older — starting with menopause.
IS IT MENOPAUSE? 6 HIDDEN SYMPTOMS WOMEN SHOULD KNOW ABOUT NOW
“The decrease in estrogen levels after menopause is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons [we see an] increase in heart attacks around this age.”
High blood pressure and high cholesterol also often increase with age and can become “more challenging to control,” Whyte said.
Gender-specific heart disease risk factors include menopause, menstrual history and adverse pregnancy outcomes, according to experts. (iStock)
“Changes in cholesterol levels, including increases in ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol and decreases in ‘good’ HDL cholesterol, can elevate heart disease risk,” he said.
Diabetes risk also increases with age, which significantly raises the chance of heart disease, Whyte said, as do other health factors such as obesity, smoking and a sedentary lifestyle.
“Lack of physical activity can increase the risk of heart disease and other co-morbid conditions,” he added.
Symptoms worth noticing
As women often experience different cardiac symptoms than men, the “classic chest pain that radiates down the left arm” may not occur, Whyte said.
Women may instead notice unusual or extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea and indigestion.
TWO WOMEN WITH HEART DISEASE HAD TO FIGHT FOR A DIAGNOSIS. HERE’S HOW THEY ADVOCATED FOR THEIR HEALTH
Jaw, neck and upper back pain are often overlooked, as they often occur without the chest pain associated with heart attacks, according to experts.
“The symptoms women experience with heart disease can often be different,” Rosen of New York said.
“Don’t ignore new symptoms like fatigue, breathlessness or indigestion.”
Symptoms of heart problems in women can appear as unusual or severe fatigue, shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea and indigestion. (iStock)
There are several routine exams to monitor heart health, Whyte noted.
Blood pressure screenings are “crucial,” the doctor said, as “hypertension is a silent killer.”
HEART DISEASE RISK INCREASES FOR YOUNG ADULTS WHO HAVE LOST A SIBLING, STUDY FINDS
An annual cholesterol profile check will monitor levels of HDL (“good” cholesterol), LDL (“bad” cholesterol) and triglyceride (lipid fats).
“The key is not just total cholesterol, but also LDL,” Whyte said.
An annual cholesterol profile check will help monitor HDL (“good” cholesterol), LDL (“bad” cholesterol) and triglyceride levels. (iStock)
Blood glucose tests can also be helpful in monitoring diabetes, which is a “significant risk factor for heart disease,” Whyte said, as well as a coronary calcium score to determine risk.
People with symptoms or significant risk factors can check for heart rhythm abnormalities through an electrocardiogram (EKG/ECG), experts recommend.
SLEEPING LONGER OVER THE WEEKEND COULD HELP PREVENT HEART ATTACKS, SAYS STUDY
It’s “important to have a primary care clinician who knows you well and can help determine the need for further evaluation,” Rosen added.
“Develop a trusting, longitudinal relationship with a primary care clinician,” she recommended. “This is the time to be a ‘good’ patient. Ask questions about prevention strategies and cardiovascular testing that is appropriate for you.”
Strategies to keep the heart happy
The majority of CVD is preventable through lifestyle changes, heightened awareness and education, Rosen said — which means that “your heart health is in your hands.”
“Know your numbers — cholesterol, weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, blood sugar — as all are important risk factors that can be modified,” she said.
Health factors such as obesity, smoking and a sedentary lifestyle increase heart disease risk, experts said. (iStock)
For day-to-day upkeep, Whyte listed several foods that are known to promote a healthy heart.
These include fruits and vegetables that are rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants; whole grains for fiber and nutrients; lean protein like fish and poultry; nuts and seeds for healthy fats; legumes for fiber and protein; and coffee and tea for antioxidants.
Limiting sugary foods and drinks will help prevent obesity and diabetes.
Among the foods to avoid are saturated and trans fats, which are found in red meat, butter, cheese and processed foods, experts said.
Steering clear of excess salt will also help avoid high blood pressure — while limiting sugary foods and drinks will help prevent obesity and diabetes.
Processed and junk foods are “generally high in unhealthy fats, sugars and salt” and therefore should also be avoided, Whyte added.
Saturated and trans fats found in red meat, butter, cheese and processed foods should be avoided to promote heart health, Whyte said. (iStock)
Women over age 50 should partake in regular physical activity, which involves at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of “vigorous activity” each week, he recommended.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
“Start anywhere,” he advised. Do “10 [minutes] a day or 4,000 steps a day … and slowly increase. Don’t get discouraged thinking you can’t do 150 [minutes].”
Maintaining a healthy weight through a balanced diet and exercise will also help ward off heart complications, as well as quitting smoking, limiting alcohol intake and managing stress.
It’s crucial for women over age 50 to prioritize their sleep and stress management, one expert told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
Whyte suggested women should try stress-reducing techniques such as mindfulness, yoga or deep breathing, and should also get adequate sleep.
“Aim for seven to nine hours per night, as poor sleep can cause chronic inflammation,” he said.
Rosen agreed that while being mindful of daily lifestyle choices like eating healthy foods and exercising is important, it’s also crucial for women over 50 to prioritize their sleep and stress management.
“Speak to your clinician to learn of the advances that have been made to assist in adhering to a healthy lifestyle,” she said.
“For example, we can manage issues with sleep disorders better than ever before. Don’t be afraid to ask.”
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health.
Use left and right arrow keys to navigate between menu items.
Use escape to exit the menu.
Sign Up
Create a free account to access exclusive content, play games, solve puzzles, test your pop-culture knowledge and receive special offers.
Already have an account? Login
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Eating too much salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but new research suggests it could trick the immune system into prematurely aging the blood vessels.
A preclinical study recently published in the Journal of the American Heart Association has identified a biological chain reaction that links a salty diet to cardiovascular decay.
Scientists at the University of South Alabama observed that mice on a high-salt diet experienced rapid deterioration in their blood vessel function.
HIGH SALT INTAKE LINKED TO FASTER MEMORY DECLINE IN ONE GROUP, STUDY FINDS
After just four weeks of high sodium intake, the small arteries responsible for regulating blood flow lost their ability to relax, according to a press release.
The team found that the cells lining these vessels had entered a state of cellular senescence, a form of premature cellular aging in which cells stop dividing and release a mix of inflammatory signals that can damage surrounding tissue.
Excess salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but a new study goes deeper into its effects on the cardiovascular system. (iStock)
The researchers tried to replicate this damage by exposing blood vessel cells directly to salt in a laboratory dish, but the cells showed no harmful effects.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
This suggests that salt isn’t directly causing damage to the vascular lining but that the real culprit may be the body’s own defense mechanism, the researchers noted.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16 (IL-16), which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16, which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study. (iStock)
Once these cells age, they fail to produce nitric oxide, the essential gas that tells arteries to dilate and stay flexible.
To test whether this process could be reversed, the team turned to a class of experimental drugs known as senolytics.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Using a cancer medication called navitoclax, which selectively clears out aged and dysfunctional cells, the researchers were able to restore nearly normal blood vessel function in the salt-fed mice, the release stated.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ.
By removing the decaying cells created by the high-salt diet, the drug allowed the remaining healthy tissue to maintain its elasticity and respond correctly to blood flow demands.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system into stopping the cells from dividing, the study suggests. (iStock)
The study did have some limitations. The transition from mouse models to human treatment remains a significant hurdle, the team cautioned.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
Senolytic drugs like navitoclax are still being studied for safety, and the team emphasized that previous trials have shown mixed results regarding their impact on artery plaque.
Additionally, the researchers have not yet confirmed whether the same IL-16 pathway is the primary driver of vascular aging in humans.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables was found to have a surprising link to lung cancer among younger non-smokers, early research suggests.
The observational study, led by Jorge Nieva, M.D., of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at Keck Medicine, was presented this month at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting in San Diego. It has not yet been peer-reviewed.
Researchers looked at dietary, smoking and demographic data for 187 patients who were diagnosed with lung cancer at age 50 or younger.
PANCREATIC CANCER PATIENT SURVIVAL DOUBLED WITH HIGH DOSE OF COMMON VITAMIN, STUDY FINDS
They found that among non-smokers, there was a link between healthier-than-average diets – rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains – and the chance of lung cancer development.
Young lung cancer patients ate more servings of dark green vegetables, legumes and whole grains compared to the average U.S. adult, the researchers found.
Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables was found to have a surprising link to lung cancer among younger non-smokers, early research suggests. (iStock)
The researchers hypothesized that pesticides applied to conventionally grown produce could be a possible factor in the disease association.
“Commercially produced (non-organic) fruits, vegetables and whole grains are more likely to be associated with a higher residue of pesticides than dairy, meat and many processed foods,” according to Nieva. He also noted that agricultural workers exposed to pesticides tend to have higher rates of lung cancer.
HIDDEN VIRUS INSIDE GUT BACTERIA LINKED TO DOUBLED COLORECTAL CANCER RISK, STUDY FINDS
“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking,” Nieva told Fox News Digital.
The disease is becoming more common in non-smokers 50 and younger, especially women – despite the fact that smoking rates have been falling for decades, the researcher noted.
The researchers hypothesized that pesticides applied to conventionally grown produce could be a possible factor in the disease association. (iStock)
“These patients tend to have eaten much healthier diets before their diagnosis than the average American,” he went on. “We need to support research into understanding why Americans – and women in particular – who no longer smoke very much are still having lung cancer,” he said.
DEATHS FROM ONE TYPE OF CANCER ARE SURGING AMONG YOUNGER ADULTS WITHOUT COLLEGE DEGREES
The study did have some limitations, Nieva acknowledged, primarily that it relied on survey data and was limited by the participants’ memories of their food intake.
“Also, the survey participants were self-selected, and this could have biased the findings,” he told Fox News Digital.
“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking.”
The researchers did not test specific foods for pesticides, relying instead on average pesticide levels for certain types of food. Looking ahead, they plan to test patients’ blood and urine samples to directly measure pesticide levels, Nieva said.
Although the study shows only an association and does not prove that pesticides caused lung cancer, Nieva recommends that people wash their produce before eating and choose organic foods whenever possible.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
“This work represents a critical step toward identifying modifiable environmental factors that may contribute to lung cancer in young adults,” said Nieva. “Our hope is that these insights can guide both public health recommendations and future investigation into lung cancer prevention.”
“It is possible that the increased lung cancer risk could be due to pesticide exposure in whole farmed foods, but is by no means certain,” a doctor said. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, said the study is “interesting,” but that it “raises far more questions than it answers.”
“It is a small study (around 150) and observational, so no proof,” the doctor, who was not involved in the research, told Fox News Digital.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
“It is possible that the increased lung cancer risk could be due to pesticide exposure in whole farmed foods, but it is by no means certain,” Siegel went on. “How much exposure is needed? How much of it gets into food and in which areas? This requires much further study.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Kayla Nichols, communications director for Pesticide Action & Agroecology Network, a distributed global network, said the organization agrees with the study’s conclusion that more research should be done on the rise in lung cancer, particularly in individuals eating diets higher in produce and fiber.
“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking,” the researcher told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
“There is a bounty of existing research that already links pesticide exposure to increased risk of multiple types of cancers,” Nichols, who was also not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. She called for more research on chronic, low-level exposures to pesticides, as well as more effective policies to protect the public from pesticide residues on food.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, as well as industry partners including AstraZeneca and Genentech, among others.
Fox News Digital reached out to several pesticide companies and trade groups for comment.
-
Washington, D.C6 minutes ago11 hurt after work vehicle collides with Silver Line train at Metro Center
-
Cleveland, OH12 minutes agoHouston Astros at Cleveland Guardians prediction, pick for Tuesday 4/21/26
-
Austin, TX18 minutes agoAppeals court rules Texas can require public schools to display Ten Commandments in class
-
Alabama24 minutes agoAlabama Defeated By Birmingham
-
Alaska30 minutes agoHawaiian, Alaska reservation systems merge: Big changes for travelers start April 22
-
Arizona36 minutes agoMichigan defenseman Hunter Hady transfers to Arizona State
-
Arkansas42 minutes ago
#24 Arkansas Explodes for Eight Runs in Eighth to Race past Missouri State in Midweek Rematch
-
California48 minutes agoCalifornia Islamic calligraphy artist preserves ancient tradition during Arab American Heritage Month
