Some heart attacks are sudden and intense, but most start slowly with mild pain or discomfort. Even if you have no symptoms, you may still be at risk for heart disease.  

 

Comparatively, almost the same number of women and men die each year of heart disease in the United States. In Arkansas, one out of every four deaths comes as the result of a heart attack, making heart attack the leading cause of death in the state. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart attack victims have a better chance of surviving if their symptoms are recognized and emergency medical treatment begins early. 

 

When a heart attack occurs, the blood supply to the heart is reduced so that some heart muscle cells do not receive enough oxygen and begin to die.  The longer it takes a person to receive treatment to restore blood flow, the greater the damage to the heart. 

 

National Wear Red Day, February 3, has been set aside this year to help raise awareness of heart disease among women. Help raise awareness about heart disease by wearing red in February for American Heart Month and National Wear Red Day. (The first Friday in February) 

 

For more resources to improve your odds against heart disease, go to the Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention page on the Arkansas Health Department’s website:

 

http://www.healthy.arkansas.gov and the Women and Heart Disease webpage at http://www.cdc.gov/women/heart/