Today, the medical community knows more than ever about women’s health risks and can provide better treatment with medication and technology. However, for medical practices to be effective, women themselves must play a major role in their own health care and take whatever steps they can to prevent these diseases from striking them.The following is an overview of information on osteoporosis, heart disease, breast cancer and depression that can help women make informed decisions about their own health.

Cardiovascular Disease: A Serious Threat for Older Women

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women, taking more lives than the next 16 leading causes of death combined. For most women, the risk increases with menopause. As a woman loses estrogen, her body goes through potentially harmful lipid changes, such as an increase in cholesterol levels. Research also indicates that estrogen loss has a direct effect on vascular tone.

Cardiovascular disease includes conditions related to the heart and arteries, such as stroke, hypertension (high blood pressure), coronary artery disease, and peripheral vascular disease, such as atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis ("hardening of the arteries").

Heart attacks have proven to be deadlier for women than for men. Since 1984, a greater number of women than men have died from cardiovascular disease, taking the lives of nearly 500,000 women annually. About 44 percent of women will die within one year of a heart attack compared to 27 percent of men. The risk to African-American women is even higher. The death rate from heart attack for African-American women aged 35 to 74, is one and one-half times that of white women and three times that of other groups of women.The most important prevention step for women is to work closely with their physicians and have their cholesterol and blood pressure checked regularly. Unfortunately, most women are not talking with their doctors about their heart. In a recent survey, only 30 percent of women ever discussed heart disease with their physician.

Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease

·Having high blood pressure and/or having diabetes

·High cholesterol. Fats and cholesterol can build up in artery walls.

·High triglycerides (the chemical form most fats exist in). May be related to high risk.

·Race/Ethnicity. African-Americans have the highest incidence of heart disease among women and Caucasian women have the second highest incidence.

·Family History. Risk increases if either your mother or sister had heart disease before the age of 60 or your father or brother had the disease before age 50.

Menopause. A drop in estrogen levels due to surgery or aging increases risk.

·Obesity/sedentary lifestyle. Inactive women are at twice the risk for heart disease.

·Smoking. Cigarette smoking strains the heart causing blood vessels to narrow, forcing the heart to beat faster and raising blood pressure.

·Excessive alcohol intake contributes to high triglycerides causing heart failure.

·Stress. Higher risk may be linked to tension, anxiety, worries, and an inability to relax.

Osteoporosis: Protect your bones

Osteoporosis can deform, debilitate and cause pain for otherwise healthy women. With this condition, the bone structure becomes thin and fragile, leading to increased risk of fractures. More than 28 million Americans have osteoporosis and the disease is responsible for 1.5 million fractures per year. In their lifetime, nearly 40 percent of women over age 50 will experience at least one fracture caused by osteoporosis.

The rate of bone loss for women increases after menopause when a woman’s body produces less estrogen. Because osteoporosis has no symptoms while it is developing, a woman may not know she has it until she fractures a bone.

·Osteoporosis fractures are most common in the spine, forearm and hip.

·A woman’s lifetime risk of having a hip fracture is equal to her combined risk for breast, uterine and ovarian cancer.

·About 10 percent of African-American women over the age of 50 are affected.

·Up to 50 percent of women who survive a hip fracture lose their independence.

·Osteoporosis can lead to loss of height and deformity.

·Annual bone loss averages one percent after menopause and as much as five percent annually during early postmenopausal years.

According to the American Cancer Society, about 77 percent of women with breast cancer are over age 50 at the time of diagnosis. While family history increases the risk, recent studies show only five to ten percent are hereditary cancers. Breast cancer is also the most common form of cancer found in African-American women, who have a lower incidence than other women, but are more likely to die of the disease.

Early detection and prompt treatment of breast cancer are the keys to saving lives. When breast cancer is discovered at a late stage of development, it is more difficult to treat. Women need to take prevention steps early. Starting at the age of 40, women should perform monthly self-exams and have an annual physical exam and a mammogram. Having annual mammograms increases the chance of survival by about 30 percent if cancer is detected.

·Caucasian or Asian descent

·Family history of osteoporosis

·Small boned and thin build

·Smoking

·Heavy alcohol consumption

·Low calcium diet

·Sedentary lifestyle

·Having joint, lung, or kidney disease

·Menopause beginning before age 40

·Using certain medications, such as prednisone

Preventing Osteoporosis

·Eat a diet high in calcium and vitamin D

·Do regular weight-bearing exercise

·Do not smoke

·Limit alcohol intake

·Take bone-protecting medications

Estrogen therapy, the most common treatment for menopause, has been shown to prevent osteoporosis. For women who choose not to take estrogen replacements, new treatment options such as selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMS) and biphosphonates are available for bone loss.

Breast Cancer

After heart disease, cancer is the second leading cause of death in American women and more women are diagnosed with breast cancer than any other cancer. As a woman ages, her risk for breast cancer increases. For women aged 35-54, the death rate from breast cancer is nearly as high as the death rate from heart disease.

According to the American Cancer Society, about 77 percent of women with breast cancer are over age 50 at the time of diagnosis. While family history increases the risk, recent studies show only five to ten percent are hereditary cancers. Breast cancer is also the most common form of cancer found in African-American women, who have a lower incidence than other women, but are more likely to die of the disease.

·Perform a monthly breast self-examination

·Get a mammogram annually

·Follow a low-fat, high-fiber diet with fruits, vegetables and grains

·Reduce or control your weight

·Stop smoking and avoid second-hand smoke

·Limit alcohol intake

·Avoid excessive sun exposure and use sunscreen

·Exercise regularly or increase your daily physical activity

·Have regular colon cancer screening

·Have an annual pelvic exam and Pap smear

Women and Depression

Clinical depression is a medical illness that afflicts millions of women each year. A persistent condition, depression can last for weeks or even years and impact a woman’s ability to work and live a normal life. Left untreated, depression causes other physical complications and can even lead to suicide. It is the leading illness among women in the developed world.

One in four women, compared to one in eight men, is likely to have a mood disorder at some time in their lives, and as many as 20 percent of these women will suffer from depression. Though depression is most prevalent during childbearing years, it can occur at any age. According to the National Institute of Mental health, more elderly women than men suffer from depression, and women with a history of major depressive illness are at increased risk in later years. Life changes such as the death of a family member or a chronic illness, can also increase the risk of depression.
Many doctors believe one cause of depression is an imbalance of the naturally-occurring chemical serotonin. Researchers are also finding that a tendency toward depression runs in families and may be inherited. like so many other illnesses

Signs of depression:

·Persistent sad, anxious or "empty" moods

·Sleeping too little or too much

·Changes in weight or appetite

·Loss of pleasure or interest in activities

·Feeling restless, sluggish or irritable

·Difficulty with concentrating, remembering, making decisions

·Fatigue or loss of energy

·Feeling guilty, hopeless or worthless

·Having thoughts of suicide or death

·Depression is not something a woman "brings on" herself.

·It does not reflect a personal weakness or inability to cope.

·It is not something a woman can "just snap out of" by herself.

·Safe, effective medication is available.

·Physicians can help.