By FAITH DAWSON
Cox News Service
ATLANTA -- Watch your diet. Get plenty of exercise. Quit smoking. These are just some of the things you can do to stay healthy as you age.
Just as important is monitoring your health through yearly physicals and gynecological exams.
We face more issues as we age - obesity, diabetes, impaired vision and cancer -but if we stay on top of our health, we’re more likely to either avoid the problems or catch them early enough to make them manageable.
Women in their 20s typically aren’t troubled by many health problems and, therefore, might be lulled into thinking exams are a waste of time and money. But this is the age where you need to obtain a baseline view of your health and make sure you’re as healthy as you think you are.
Some late-life diseases are the result of choices made early on. As you age, the likelihood of developing a condition or disease increases. So when you’re young, for example, you may be able to eat fast-food meals without gaining weight, but you’re still working against your heart and blood vessels. That can contribute to heart disease, stroke and diabetes earlier than expected.
Amy Warner, a certified family nurse practitioner for the Heart and Health Center for Women at Northside Hospital’s Alpharetta, Ga. campus, suggests a body mass index test and body fat analysis to determine your appropriate weight range and percentage of body fat. This is good advice for any age and can help determine whether you’re at risk for certain health problems.
You’re never too old to start taking care of your body. For instance, if you quit smoking, your risk of heart disease and stroke drops. After one smoke-free year, your risks for these diseases are cut in half - even if you were a heavy smoker.
Each age poses specific health challenges and concerns.
We asked a variety of doctors - a family practitioner, orthopedic surgeon, dermatologist, cardiologist and gynecologist - to help create a general guide of common health concerns for women. Here is their advice.
Know your heart
If you’re a woman with heart disease, chances are you might feel it in subtle ways. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women over age 25, but it often goes undiagnosed because women and their doctors miss or ignore the symptoms.
While a man might have traditional symptoms before a heart attack - a squeezing sensation in the chest, nausea, pain in the left arm - a woman might instead feel weak, dizzy, tired or short of breath. That’s because plaque builds up differently in women’s arteries, with moderate, even blockages as opposed to the large, isolated blockages that develop in men.
Dr. Gina Lundberg, a cardiologist and board member of the Metro Atlanta American Heart Association, said that more women in their 20s and 30s are having heart attacks, but some doctors still don’t consider women, especially those that young, to be at risk for heart disease.
“Until we get the physicians on board with the idea that heart disease in women is different, they’re not going to get treated different. One of the main things is to inform women, tell them to go to the doctor, tell them to insist on getting an EKG and a stress test,” Lundberg said, adding that a nuclear stress test or a stress echo test is more reliable for women.
Know your numbers
Total cholesterol: Less than 200 (milligrams/deciliter)
LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels vary:
-- People who are at low risk for heart disease: less than 160
-- People who are at intermediate risk for heart disease: less than 130
-- People who are at low risk for heart disease: less than 100 (some high-risk patients have a goal of less than 70
HDL (“good”) cholesterol: 50
Triglycerides: less than 150
Blood pressure: less than 120/80
Fasting glucose: less than 100
Body mass index (BMI): less than 25
Waist circumference: less than 35 inches
Exercise: minimum of 30 minutes most, if not all, days of the week
- American Heart Association
Questions to ask your doctor, at any age
-- I want to quit smoking; what’s the best way? How can I avoid gaining weight after I quit?
-- Am I within a healthy weight range? If not, what should I be doing?
-- What are the best physical activities for me, especially if I’m short on time? Does my family history show anything that I should be concerned about?
-- Is my cholesterol within normal range? If not, do I need to take medicine, or can I eat better and exercise? What should I be eating?
-- Diabetes runs in my family. How can I prevent it?
- For a complete list of questions to ask your doctor, go to www.goredforwomen.org.
20s
Skin
Why: Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer, accounting for about half of all cases. Women of color are susceptible, and they are often diagnosed much later than fair-skinned women.
What to do: Dr. Susan Taylor, a Philadelphia dermatologist who is on the board of the American Academy of Dermatology, recommends women wear sunscreen every day. Avoid tanning booths and powerful daytime UV rays. Taylor also recommends a yearly screening for suspicious moles or discoloration, regardless of your race or ethnic background, as well as monthly self-exams.
Sexual health
Why: Sexually transmitted diseases such as chlamydia often have no symptoms and can prevent fertility if left untreated.
What to do: If you haven’t already done so, practice safe sex to protect against sexually transmitted diseases as well as unplanned pregnancies. Visit the gynecologist at least once a year for a Pap smear - but know that Pap smears do not detect all STDs. Ask your doctor about testing for STDs and about Gardasil, the new vaccine that guards against cervical cancer. It was recently approved for girls and women age 9-26.
30s
Maternity / infertility
Why: A 1995 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey estimated that about 7 percent of married couples of childbearing age have experienced infertility problems.
What to do: Talk to your gynecologist about conception issues. He or she can refer you to a specialist for further treatment and advice.
40s
Vision problems
Why: Presbyopia - the condition that leads to reading glasses - is often the 40th birthday present we didn’t ask for but can’t be returned for a refund.
What to do: The American Optometric Association recommends that people age 18 to 40 have their eyes checked every two to three years, and people between ages 41 and 60 have their eyes checked every two years, not just for changes in vision but also for glaucoma and cataracts.
Breast cancer
Why: About one in eight women will develop breast cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.
What to do: Monthly breast self-exams can begin at any age. Women should have a baseline mammogram at age 40, or at age 35 if they have an immediate relative (mother or sister) who was diagnosed with breast cancer, and every two years thereafter until age 50. After age 50, get annual mammograms.
50s to 60s
Menopause
Why: Menopause signals a hormonal change, and that change may affect other aspects of your health.
What to do: Menopause treatments are highly tailored to the patient. Any treatment should be discussed with your doctor. The average age that American women undergo menopause is 51.
Colorectal cancer
Why: Nine out of 10 people who have been diagnosed with colorectal cancer are older than 50.
What to do: Tests for blood in the stool or suspicious polyps in the colon are recommended by age 50, earlier if there is a family history of colon cancer. A colonoscopy is recommended at 10-year intervals.
Osteoporosis
Why: In 2004, the U.S. surgeon general warned that by 2020, half of all Americans older than 50 will be at risk for fractures caused by osteoporosis, or low bone mass.
What to do: Maintain your calcium intake - most women need about 1,000 milligrams per day - through diet and/or supplements. A bone density test can spot decreased bone mass.
Diabetes
Why: Diabetes raises the risk of heart attack and stroke. The CDC issued a report in 2003 that estimated 65 percent of people with diabetes die of heart attack or stroke.
What to do: A fasting blood sugar test should be part of your yearly physical. You can control your diabetes through diet, weight management and medication.
Faith Dawson writes for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. E-mail: fdawson AT ajc.com
Story Filed By Cox Newspapers
