Ladies, Put on That Red Dress - and Tell Your Men to Wear One Too!
By Robynn Rutledge
May 24, 2004
Page 2 of 3
• It strikes at younger ages than most people think. The risk rises with middle age and can begin as early as the teenage years. One in 12 women aged 45-64 has heart disease; this increases to 1 in 4 for women over age 65.
• Two-thirds of women who have heart attacks never fully recover.
I realize that this space at GOPUSA is usually reserved for political commentary. And I guess if you want to make it political, then simply note that the First Lady has become an advocate to increase awareness of, and to ultimately reduce, the incident of heart disease in women. (Please visit the First Lady's website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/firstlady/.)
I would have to argue that women are simply too busy taking care of everyone around them that they don't take time out to take care of themselves. My mother is a classic example of this.
Earlier that morning, my mother, sedated and being prepped for heart surgery, apologized for not getting all the laundry done for her mother-in-law (who is in a nursing home); agonized that she had not put the vacuum cleaner up (she was a little tired); and informed my brother (home for the weekend from his military base to be with her) where to find a couple of cartons of homemade chicken soup in the freezer for his supper that night. But that's what mother does - - she thinks she can worry about herself later because she's too busy worrying about and doing for others now.
Ladies, that has to change. I'm not suggesting a revolt or a new feminist movement or anything. But it's OK to take time for you. And you men out there...realize that mom (or honey or darling - whatever it is you call her) can develop heart disease. If she's breathing heavy or has back pain, it may be more than carrying a heavier load of your laundry up the stairs.
And it's OK to nag - at least for this it is. Sometime mom (honey or darling) won't make that appointment unless you nag. I am proud to say that dad and I were officially called naggers. I'm much happier to have my father known as a nagger than a widower.
So please help NHLBI, Laura Bush, me and mom get the word out. Heart disease is something that concerns women. And it concerns them greatly. So much can be done to mitigate its impact. But the first step, like most things in life, is awareness. Women must understand that this is a women's disease too.
The goal of the noble campaign entitled "The Heart Truth" is to increase women's awareness of heart disease so that they know to mitigate the risks. As previously stated (it does warrant repeating) one in three women dies of heart disease. Personally, I would have thought breast cancer to be a bigger culprit. After all, that's the one thing most women I know fear. But the reality is that in 2000, breast cancer claimed 42,000 women versus heart disease's 366,000.
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