A Big Price to Pay: Heart Disease and Women.
February is National Heart Month according to the Center for Disease Control & Prevention and – given that heart disease and stroke affect 1 out of every 3 women – I hope that you’re taking this month to consider the health of your heart. The message is everywhere, this month. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women. To combat this sad fact, The American Heart Association will take action this month by raising money to battle heart disease with their Go Red for Women campaign. (Fashion alert: February 3, 2017 is National Wear Red Day…in case you want to join in!)
Among the reasons why heart disease is so often missed in women, is because there is a myth that women don’t suffer from heart disease. Moreover, when we are suffering from it, sometimes we don’t notice because our symptoms are so much different from what men experience. If you’re taking your cues from television, a heart attack is signaled by aches and pains in the left arm followed by chest pains. These are not the symptoms that women experience at all. In fact, for us, heart disease and/or a heart attack are rarely chest-related. According to the Mayo Clinic, the symptoms that we experience are:
- Neck, jaw, shoulder, upper back or abdominal discomfort
- Shortness of breath
- Pain in one or both arms
- Nausea or vomiting
- Sweating
- Lightheadedness or dizziness
- Unusual fatigue
Fascinating, no!? And, while I am so glad to help share these symptoms in an effort to spread the word – I also want to take this moment to underscore how important your heart health is…in terms of your financial health, too! A health crisis of this size and scope can wreak havoc on your financial planning strategies. And, while nothing is forever, and with focus and hard work you can get back to where you need to be – avoiding a heart crisis is obviously the desired course of action for so many reasons.
It is very difficult to estimate what a heart attack can cost you, as price tags vary widely from state to state. According to this Money Magazine article:
“…the average cost of treating a patient admitted to a hospital with a heart attack is $18,200 according to Medicare data. Unfortunately, you don’t get to opt for the average charge, and if an ambulance brings you to one of the higher-cost emergency rooms for cardiology, the total tab for a single heart attack could be $100,000 or more.”
Keep in mind, these averages speak only to the cost of the initial hospital stay. There will also be the expense of post-care, physical therapy, and then don’t forget the cost of time away from your family and/or from work. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research:
“Medicare spends over $14,000 per patient on hospital bills in the year after a heart attack, plus additional amounts for physicians and outpatient care.”
So. With that. How do you prevent heart disease? Back to our friends at the Go Red For Women campaign.
- Don’t smoke.
- Manage your blood sugar.
- Get your blood pressure under control
- Lower your cholesterol
- Know your family history
- Stay active
- Lose weight
- Eat healthy
Take care of yourselves, ladies! You, your loved ones, and your financial planning strategies will be better for it!