Heart-saving tips every woman should know

Every year about 35,000 women in Canada die from heart disease and disease of the blood vessels. In fact, cardiovascular disease claims more women's lives than all forms of cancer. Here are some tips every woman should take to heart.

Tell a woman that she's more likely to die of a heart attack or stroke than of breast cancer and she might not believe you. A survey of women with heart disease found that many considered their condition a "man's disease." Not so.

• One hospital study found that women rate poor self-esteem as the primary reason for not making changes to improve their cardiovascular health.
• Remember: When it comes to health, you come first. If you're not around, it won't matter what you can do for others.

• Simply go into a dark, quiet room for 20 minutes when you get home from work.
• Stress harms the heart directly and also indirectly — by preventing you from making lifestyle changes that could help your heart.
• And in a woman's life, the stress of work is often simply compounded by the stress at home.
• Give yourself a time-out period between your two worlds — it will do you a whole world of heart-healthy good.

• And do it not just for yourself, but for your whole family.
• As well as eating healthily and not drinking too much or smoking, encourage your children and grandchildren to be aware of the importance of looking after their hearts.
• That way you can help to prevent heart disease in future generations.
• Encourage them to be active along with you. Involve them in food preparation so that they will learn from you about what foods are good or bad for their hearts.

• Don't assume that if you're not having crushing chest pain you're not having a heart attack.
• Symptoms of a heart attack in women can include extreme weakness or a feeling similar to indigestion.
• So, pay attention to your body. Surveys of women who have had heart attacks find that they may exhibit some unique symptoms in the month before the attack, such as feeling unusually fatigued, having problems sleeping, experiencing indigestion and weakness in their arms.