A new report by the American Heart Association (AHA) contains some alarming predictions about the future of the heart. women’s health.
The projections, published Wednesday in the journal Circulation, predicted that by 2050, American women will experience an increase in a variety of comorbidities.
More than 59% of women are expected to have the following symptoms: high blood pressureup from less than 49% currently.
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In this review, more than 25% of women will get diabetesMore than 61% will be obese (compared to 44% today), compared to about 15% today.
As a result of these risk factors, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease increases. and stroke It is expected to rise from 10.7% to 14.4%.
Not all trends were unhealthy. cholesterol prevalence According to the report, it is expected to fall to around 22% from the current over 42%.
Dr. Elizabeth Clodus, a cardiologist and founder of Step One Foods of Minnesota, commented on these “surprising findings.”
“The fact that, on our current trajectory, cardiometabolic diseases are projected to explode among women within a generation should be a huge wake-up call,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“Hypertension, diabetes, obesity – these are all major risk factors for the disease. heart diseaseand we already know what those risks are. Heart disease is the number one killer of women, surpassing all other causes of death, including breast cancer. ”
Mr Clodus warned that heart disease can develop early, progress “silently” and appear “suddenly and in a devastating way”.
The AHA on Thursday released another study that looked at 1 million hospitalized patients and showed that deaths from heart attacks are on the rise among adults under 55.
According to Crodas, an even more surprising discovery was that young woman They were found to be more likely to die after their first heart attack than men of the same age.
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“This is especially tragic because heart disease is almost completely preventable,” she says. “The sooner you start, the better.”
Children may show early evidence of plaque deposits within their arteries, which can be reversed by: Lifestyle changes “If we start early enough and aggressively enough,” experts say.
Krodas suggested that the rise in heart disease is associated with traditional risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity. sedentary lifestyle.
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Doctors also note a high incidence of gestational diabetes, as well as pre-eclampsia and high blood pressure during pregnancy. Dr. Clodas noted that these are gender-specific risk factors and do not usually cause complications until after menopause.
The best way to protect a healthy heart is to “do the basics,” Clodas recommends, including the following lifestyle habits:
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Claudus placed particular emphasis on Improving your eating habitsbecause the food people eat influences “all the risk factors highlighted in the AHA report.”
“High blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, excess weight – these are all conditions that are caused, in part or in whole, by food,” she says. “We eat many times each day, which means what we eat has a profound cumulative effect over time.”
“Even small improvements in dietary intake can have a large positive impact on health if maintained.”
Doctors also recommend replacing snacks several times a day. healthier optionshas been proven to “achieve drug-level cholesterol reduction” in one month.
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“If you continue to make these small changes, you could lose 20 pounds within a year and reduce your sodium intake to the point where you no longer need blood pressure-lowering medications,” Krodus added.
“Women should not think of the AHA report as inevitable. We have the power to control our health destiny. We just have to use it.”
