WVU Medicine, Marion Co., West Virginia, Chamber promote women's heart health

WVU Medicine Heart and Vascular Institute Administrator Jennifer Gerdes said heart disease kills more women than the next 16 most common causes of death combined, and it’s particularly important for women to know the signs of heart disease and heart attacks, as they vary greatly from the symptoms in men.

“About a third of women experience no chest pain at all when experiencing a heart attack, and 71% of women report flu-like symptoms for two weeks to a month prior to having more acute chest discomfort or severe shortness of breath,” Gerdes said. “These symptoms are often underreported. … On average, women take two to four hours longer than men to respond to symptoms of a heart attack, limiting the benefit of some newer treatments like clot busters that work best within the first hour of pain or discomfort. … It’s important to get everything evaluated by a physician.”

Gerdes said that despite women’s symptoms being very different from those that present in men, less than a third of women nationwide actually know that there are differences at all, making Go Red for Women Day and American Heart Month all the more important.

“It’s specifically important to talk about how these symptoms affect women, especially because sudden death is more common among women with heart attacks,” Gerdes said. “There are also reports that women have a worse outcome than men after having a heart attack. Data shows that women under the age of 50 have twice the mortality rate of men after having heart attack.”

Because of the vagueness of heart disease and heart attack symptoms in women, as well as the increased chance of death after a heart attack, Gerdes said preventative and proactive heart health is crucial for women in West Virginia and the entire country.

“Don’t smoke or use tobacco, aim for 30-to-60 minutes of activity daily, eat a heart-healthy diet, maintain a healthy weight and get good quality sleep,” Gerdes said. “Also, get regular health screenings.”

For the last several years, the Marion County Chamber of Commerce has been heavily involved in Go Red for Women events. Chamber President Tina Shaw said that even though the organization itself is not primarily health-based, it’s still very important to promote what she believes to be a crucial component of wellness to the community.

“We have a very active women’s network, and we’ve been involved with this for several years,” Shaw said. “Heart disease is the number one killer for women, and we felt we needed to bring awareness.”

Shaw explained that the chamber has a health, safety and wellness committee, which goes hand-in-hand with the promotion of Going Red for Women.

Wear Red Day is specifically on Friday, Feb. 3, and both the chamber and the Fairmont Medical Center are a part of events and initiatives to raise awareness to a crucial topic of health.

“We’re encouraging everyone to wear red, and we want them to take pictures and upload them to social media,” Shaw said. “Tag us and use the hashtag #GoRedMCCC so we can share them. I think the more awareness we can bring every year to this event, the more women and men will pay attention to the warning signs.”

Shaw said that the chamber will also be working with WVU Medicine’s Dr. David Tingler to put out information and an interview on social media so residents can directly hear the benefits of heart health from a professional.

Gerdes said that she hopes women take the initiative to learn more about their health this month and increase their awareness of the many difference in heart disease among men and women, noting that even a little bit of research can be life-saving in the end.

“Every life is valuable, and awareness can save lives,” Gerdes said.