February is Women's Heart Disease Awareness Month!

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February is American Heart Month

The doctors at the Lake Erie Spine & Injury Center want to raise awareness and promote prevention of heart disease! The Center for Disease Control has outlined some facts and risk factors that we would like our patients to know about. Please take the steps outlined to protect yourself and others from risks associated with heart disease, and help raise awarness this month by forwarding this link to your friends and family!

About every 25 seconds, an American will have a coronary event.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and is a major cause of disability. The most common heart disease in the United States is coronary heart disease, which often appears as a heart attack. In 2009, an estimated 785,000 Americans had a new coronary attack, and about 470,000 will have a recurrent attack. About every 25 seconds, an American will have a coronary event, and about one every minute will die from one.

The chance of developing coronary heart disease can be reduced by taking steps to prevent and control factors that put people at greater risk. Additionally, knowing the signs and symptoms of heart attack are crucial to the most positive outcomes after having a heart attack. People who have survived a heart attack can also work to reduce their risk of another heart attack or a stroke in the future. For more information on heart disease and stroke, visit CDC's Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention.

Facts on Women and Heart Disease

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States. In 2006, 315,930 women died from it.
Heart disease killed 26% of the women who died in 2006—more than one in every four.
Although heart disease is sometimes thought of as a "man's disease," around the same number of women and men die each year of heart disease in the United States. Unfortunately, 36% of women did not perceive themselves to be at risk for heart disease in a 2005 survey.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women of most racial/ethnic groups in the United States, including African Americans, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Hispanics, and whites. For Asian American women, heart disease is second only to cancer.
In 2006, about 6.9% of all white women, 8.8% of black women, and 6.6% of Mexican American women were living with coronary heart disease.
Almost two-thirds of the women who die suddenly of coronary heart disease have no previous symptoms. Even if you have no symptoms, you may still be at risk for heart disease.

Heart Disease Facts in Men

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men in the United States. In 2006, 315,706 men died from it.
Heart disease killed 26% of the men who died in 2006—more than one in every four.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men of most racial/ethnic groups in the United States, including African Americans, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Hispanics, and whites. For Asian American men, heart disease is second only to cancer.
In 2006, about 9.4% of all white men, 7.8% of black men, and 5.3% of Mexican American men were living with coronary heart disease.
Half of the men who die suddenly of coronary heart disease have no previous symptoms. Even if you have no symptoms, you may still be at risk for heart disease.
Between 70% and 89% of sudden cardiac events occur in men.

Risk Factors

Nine out of 10 heart disease patients have at least one risk factor. Several medical conditions and lifestyle choices can put women at a higher risk for heart disease, including: