Unprotected exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) light can put you at risk for skin cancer, which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is the most common form of cancer in the U.S.

Skin Protection

• Wear a hat and long-sleeve, tight-weave apparel when out in the sun.

• Limit your exposure, especially between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

• Regularly use a water-resistant, broad-spectrum SPF sunscreen with a value of 15 or higher. Apply liberally 15 minutes before sun exposure and reapply every hour as needed, particularly after swimming or perspiring.

• Use sunscreen even on cold or cloudy days. Remember, UV rays can reflect off water, cement, sand and snow.

• Your lips need protection, too — use an SPF 15 or higher lip balm.

• If insects are a problem, use an effective insect repellent that also offers sun protection.

• Keep up with skin exams. Skin cancers found and removed early are almost always curable. The five-year survival rate for patients whose melanoma is detected early, before the tumor has penetrated the skin, is about 98 percent.

The survival rate falls significantly when the disease has the chance to metastasize (spread) throughout the body.

Check your skin from head-to-toe each month, and visit a dermatologist annually for a professional skin exam. If you notice any change in an existing mole or discover a new one that looks suspicious, see a physician immediately.

Visit SkinCancer.org to download a guide to self-exams.

BY FRANK KIM, M.D.

Special to the Times

Our brains are composed of 50 to 100 billion cells that communicate by passing signals to each other through more than 100 trillion connections.

This intercellular communication allows us to think, feel and act; however, our brain cells need oxygen-rich blood to function. When the blood supply in the brain is reduced by a stroke, brain cells quickly die.

But did you know that you can decrease your risk of a stroke by almost 40 percent by making simple lifestyle changes such as exercising regularly?

“Brain Attacks”

In some ways, a stroke in the brain is like a heart attack. There are two main types:

Ischemic: During an ischemic stroke, a clot obstructs blood supply to the brain. The abnormal build-up of fatty materials on the inside of vessel walls — known as plaque — causes clots to form that can obstruct blood flow by narrowing a vessel or by breaking off and clotting a blood vessel in the brain.

Hemorrhagic: Bleeding in the brain from a leaking blood vessel causes hemorrhagic stroke, decreasing the blood supply to cells.

Who’s at Risk?

Stroke is more common in men than in women. Our risk of stroke increases as we age; 75 percent of strokes occur in those older than 64 years of age. However, one-third of strokes occur in people younger than 65.

African Americans, Hispanics and Asian Americans have a higher risk of stroke than white Americans. The risk of a first-time stroke for African Americans is almost double the incidence in white Americans.

Know Your Risk

Stroke risk increases with certain medical conditions, such as diabetes, which causes high blood sugar; atrial fibrillation, which causes an irregular heartbeat that disrupts circulation; and sickle cell anemia, which decreases the number of healthy red blood cells supplying oxygen to the body.

Other risks include:

•High Blood Pressure: causes a two- to four-fold increase in stroke risk for those under age 80 and is the leading cause of stroke

•Smoking: leads to a two-fold increase in the risk of ischemic stroke and up to a four-fold increase in the risk of hemorrhagic stroke

•Alcohol Consumption (more than two drinks per day): increases risk by 50 percent

•High Cholesterol

•Lack of Exercise

•Being Overweight: strains circulation and increases risk for high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes

Lifestyle Changes

By committing to lifestyle changes, you may be able to significantly lower your risk as well as your need for stroke medications.

Moderate aerobic exercise, such as walking, for at least 30 minutes five days each week, along with a diet low in saturated fats and high in whole grains, fruits and vegetables, can improve your circulation.

Reducing alcohol intake and quitting smoking are other ways to significantly lower your risk.

Changing our daily habits is often difficult but frequently generates the greatest benefit.

Frank Kim, M.D., is a board-certified neurologist affiliated with Eden Medical Center, which has a nationally accredited Primary Stroke Center. For a free magnet about the signs of stroke, email your name and mailing address to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

It’s summer, and for kids that means it’s time for sports, swimming, biking and picnics. And, while active outdoor time is healthy and fun, experts say it’s crucial for parents and kids to brush up on some seasonal safety tips.

According to the experts at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the summer poses its own set of risks. In order to help parents keep kids happy, healthy and safe all summer long, they are offering these timely tips:

Sun Safety

Sunburns are not only unpleasant, they are damaging to skin health. Minimize exposure to harmful ultraviolet radiation by dressing your children (and yourself, for that matter) in cotton clothing with a tight weave, sunglasses and hats with a brim or bill.

Stay in the shade whenever possible and use a sunscreen with an SPF 15 or greater, even on cloudy days, and reapply it every two hours, or after swimming or sweating.

Always keep plenty of water on hand when you’re playing or exercising outside. Unless kids are exercising vigorously for extended periods, plain water — not sports drinks — is the best way to rehydrate.

Water Safety

Drowning is a leading cause of death among children, including infants and toddlers, but parents can make swimming safer for kids with the right safety equipment, instruction and supervision.

“While swimming lessons are helpful, they are not a foolproof plan. Parents should never — even for a moment — leave children alone near open bodies of water,” says Dr. Thomas K. McInerny, AAP president.

Home swimming pools should be surrounded by a four-foot-high, non-climbable, four-sided fence with a self-closing, self-latching gate. Parents, caregivers and pool owners should learn CPR and keep equipment approved by the U.S. Coast Guard, such as life preservers and life jackets at poolside.

Trampolines

Even with netting, padding and adult supervision, experts say that home trampolines are dangerous. Injuries are common, and can be potentially catastrophic. Thousands of people are injured on trampolines annually. Encourage your child to get exercise in safer ways.

Bike Safety

Children should wear a helmet on every bike ride. Accidents can happen anywhere, anytime. Get your child a helmet specific for biking. Football helmets, for example, are made to protect the head from other types of injuries.

Teach your children traffic and bike safety before allowing them to bike in the street. For example, they should always ride with traffic and use hand signals. If your child doesn’t have the skills necessary to use hand signals without swerving, he or she shouldn’t be riding in the street.

For more summer safety tips, visit the AAP’s website for parents, www.HealthyChildren.org.

BY WEI-FANG KO, M.D.

Special to the Times

Colon cancer is one of the most treatable cancers when detected early. Yet, according to the American Cancer Society, half of people age 50 and older who should be screened for colon cancer are not.

Many people tend to put off this screening, but the significant health benefits make the exam preparation and screening process very worthwhile. With regular testing, thousands of lives could be saved each year.

What is colon cancer?

Colon cancer usually develops slowly in the large bowel or colon. Often, it begins when environmental or genetic changes cause the growth of abnormal tissue or a polyp.

Most of this tissue begins as polyps, or noncancerous tumors that grow on the inner lining of the colon. If not removed promptly, some of these polyps can become cancerous.

Why screening is important?

There are many screening tests — talk with your doctor to determine your risk and which screening test might be best for you. Most people with an average risk for colon cancer should be screened at age 50.

A colonoscopy is one screening option that your doctor may recommend, usually once every 10 years. During this screening, doctors exam the entire length of the colon to detect polyps or early-stage cancers.

Regular colonoscopy screenings for the detection and removal of polyps can reduce a person’s risk of developing colon cancer by up to 90 percent. And, the detection of early-stage cancers increases the chance of a successful treatment outcome.

Preparation

To see the colon lining clearly, your doctor will prescribe a strong laxative for you to drink to clean out your colon. Preparing for your colonoscopy can take one to two days, depending on what your doctor recommends.

Depending on the method of preparation, patients should not eat solid foods for 24 hours prior to the procedure, but they can have clear liquids, such as water, tea, apple juice and clear bouillon. There are, however, some preparations that allow some solids the day before. Your doctor will offer the choices he or she feels are best suited to your situation.

What to Expect in the GI Lab

During a colonoscopy, most patients receive a sedative. Those receiving conscious sedation are closely monitored. Although they can hear and follow instructions, many do not remember the 30-minute screening. Patients should expect to spend 2-3 hours total at the GI lab.

To examine the colon, your doctor will insert a thin, flexible colonoscope and move it gently through your colon. A chip in the tip of the scope transmits images to a computer screen while fiber bundles provide light so your doctor can check for polyps. You may feel a little pressure on your abdomen as your doctor manipulates the scope, but most patients remember feeling very little at all. Doctors can immediately remove any polyps and take tissue samples during the colonoscopy.

Wei-Fang Ko, M.D., is a board-certified gastroenterologist and affiliated with Eden Medical Center.

Dr. Ko will present a free talk on colorectal cancer on Saturday, May 4, at 10:45 a.m. at the Cinco de Mayo Celebration at the Ashland Community Center in San Leandro.

Eden Medical Center will also offer free colorectal cancer screenings. Restrictions apply and limited to supply on hand. Contact 510-727-3175 for more information.

BY MARK UNDERWOOD

Special to the Times

Gardening has long been known as a great way to get outdoors and enjoy fresh air and sunshine. And, it has hidden benefits that can boost your overall health, including better brain health.

You don’t need a big yard to enjoy gardening. Use containers on a porch or patio to grow a wide variety of fruits or vegetables. A five-gallon bucket with holes for drainage can be used to grow a great crop of tomatoes.

Even if you aren’t actively involved in gardening, just walking in a garden can give you a sensory experience that promotes relaxation and reduces stress.

Here are several ways gardening boosts your health and well-being.

Low-impact Exercise

Gardeners love to get outdoors and work with their hands. Because of that, gardening keeps you exercising even when a gym may not work for you.

Gardening is certainly not the same as pumping iron or running a marathon. But, when you are digging, planting and doing other tasks, you have opportunities for low-impact exercise.

No matter what level of exercise you do, gardening will help keep you limber.

Stress Reduction

When you walk among beautiful flowers and watch vegetables spring up, it’s easy to see why gardening enriches the mind. But have you thought about gardening as a tonic for reducing stress? If not, you should. A recent study suggests that gardening can fight stress even better than other relaxing leisure activities.

Most of us push ourselves to the max, but gardening really does make you slow down and literally smell the roses.

Tracking Accomplishments

It would be difficult to remember from year to year what plants did well and those that didn’t — especially if you have a large vegetable, fruit and flower garden.

That’s why gardeners love to keep photos of what they planted, before and after shots, and notes about their garden’s progress. Since it would be difficult to remember every detail of last year’s garden when you get ready to plant again this year, a photo journal, along with written records can make you a more effective and efficient gardener.

Those journals are handy reviews of what to plant again and what to forego. Notes written by hand or typed on your computer will also give you another benefit. When you keep track of your gardening accomplishments, you’re apt to better remember the details.

And, what’s more, you’ll be boosting your brain health by sharpening your memory and recall skills.

Eat Fresh

Growing your own food has the obvious benefit of being able to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables. Several studies have shown that people who garden eat more fresh fruits and vegetables than people who don’t have home gardens.

The great outdoors is yours to enjoy and, with the added support of great nutrition and executive function, you’re on your way to better brain health, too.

BY MARK UNDERWOOD

Special to the Times

Laughing is a good remedy for many things in life. We all need humor and levity to combat daily stresses. Laughing is not only a great release; it is available to everyone, anywhere, anytime.

If you’ve wondered if laughter really is good for your health, you’re not alone. Can laughter really have hidden benefits other than simply being an automatic emotional response to seeing or hearing something funny?

University of Maryland Medical Center researchers say yes. They studied people who laugh every day, several times a day to see if there was a connection between laughter and health benefits.

People who laugh on a consistent basis tend to have lower blood pressure than those who laugh occasionally.

The Maryland research was the first to find a link between laugher and lowering heart disease. They found people with heart disease laughed, on average, 40 percent less than people of the same age without heart disease.

Born to Laugh

Humans have a natural instinct for laughter. Babies usually begin to laugh at four months old. Also, it appears that laughter may be one of the few universal traits found across human cultures; it is a universal language that all humans share.

We know that adults are far less likely to laugh than children. In fact, the average child laughs over 300 times a day, while the typical adult only laughs 17 times a day. Even worse is the fact that a majority of adults who report laughing on a daily basis fall into the age range of 18 to 34.

Humor and laughter may also have powerful effects on memory, brain health and aging. If the mental effects of laughter are as positive as the physical, then it is time to learn a few new jokes, gather some friends and start improving your brain health the easy way. Make them laugh.

According to a Stanford researcher, laughing is like jogging while standing in place. Laughing is actually a physical workout.

Remember the last time your stomach hurt from laughing too much? You did a whole abdominal workout that was more fun than crunches and sit-ups any day. One minute of laughter is equal to using a rowing machine for 10 minutes.

Use these tips to add more laughter in your life:

• Find humor in everyday things.

• Increase your exposure to comedy such as funny books, movies and live theater.

• Make sure you have funny friends.

• If you hear a joke that makes you laugh, remember it, chances are it will make someone else laugh too!

Mark Underwood is a neuroscience researcher amd president of Quincy Bioscience, a biotech company located in Madison, Wisconsin.

BY CHRISTINE GRAHAM

Special to the Times

For decades, organizations like Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the “Every 15 Minutes Program” have educated people about the dangers of drinking and driving.

The Every 15 Minutes Program specifically challenges young people to think about drinking and driving and how lives can be tragically affected by an intoxicated driver.

Trauma Centers like the one at Eden Medical Center treat our community’s most critically injured.

More than 53 percent of these injuries we see are a result of a motor vehicle accident, and more than 40 percent of these accidents involve drugs or alcohol. However, recent statistics show an alarming increase in the number of accidents due to cellphone use.

While there are laws prohibiting phone use while driving, enforcement is sporadic and we have all seen drivers talking on their cellphones, or worse, texting while speeding down the highway.

According to a recent study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, people who send text messages while driving are 23 times more likely to be in a crash. Add to this the statistic that 40 percent of drivers admitted to texting while driving a vehicle, we can conclude that this dangerous habit is reaching epidemic proportions.

The National Safety Council estimates that 200,000 crashes a year are caused by drivers who are texting. A recent study by Car & Driver Magazine found that texting drivers actually had a three to four times slower response rate than drunk drivers.

This month, Eden Medical Center brings the Every 15 Minutes Program to San Leandro High School and is partnering with Highland Hospital to present the program to Oakland High.

The program’s name originally came from the statistic that every 15 minutes someone in the United States dies in an alcohol-related vehicle accident.

The two-day program includes a realistic staging of an accident involving student victims. One student, pronounced dead on the scene, is placed in a body bag and taken to the morgue. The student driver is given a sobriety test. After failing the test, he is handcuffed and placed into a police car. The remaining “critically injured” students are taken to Eden’s trauma center where they experience a full mock trauma scenario.

We hope to demonstrate the devastating impact that drunk or distracted driving has, not only on the people involved, but their friends and families as well. Our hope is to leave a lasting impression on our young drivers to think twice about the serious choices they make when getting behind the wheel of a car.

Christine Graham is the Trauma Prevention Coordinator at Eden Medical Center.

BY BENJAMIN BUSFIELD, M.D.

Special to the Times

Every year, more than 3.5 million children are treated for a sports-related injury. Most prevention efforts focus on single-event injuries, such as two players colliding, but most injuries are actually caused by overuse — which is something we can control.

Overuse injuries are common in a variety of sports, but they are most frequent in throwing sports such as baseball, particularly among pitchers.

With spring sports getting ready to start, it’s a great time to seriously consider your child’s risk.

The risk of pitching

The act of pitching a baseball sends a powerful whipping force across the shoulder and elbow. With good mechanics, it’s not likely that throwing a small number of pitches (fewer than 50) will lead to injury, but as the number of pitches thrown in a day increases, so does the chance of injury.

As a pitcher’s muscles get fatigued, his body mechanics change. Eventually, the excessive use causes an injury. Most overuse injuries can be treated by taking a rest from pitching, but some can lead to life-long injuries, which is why it is so important to prevent overuse.

Avoiding injury

In major league baseball, starting pitchers only pitch every fifth game. In youth sports, it’s not unusual for one or two pitchers to start most games — and the youth athlete’s developing body is already more prone to injury.

To minimize the risk, most youth leagues impose pitch counts that limit the number of pitches a player can throw in a game, but that may not be enough.

In-game pitches are no more damaging than those thrown in practices and warm ups; and pitches thrown over several days can also have a cumulative effect.

For children ages 7–14, four days of rest should always follow days where more than 66 pitches are thrown. For ages 15–18, the same rest period should follow days where more than 76 pitches are thrown. To put that in perspective, a pitcher that struck out every batter would throw at least 81 pitches in nine innings.

Not all pitches are equal

For some, it’s a controversial subject, but research shows that some pitches are more likely to cause an injury than others. Curveballs, for example, increase the risk of shoulder pain by 52 percent, and sliders increase the risk of elbow pain by 86 percent (according to a 2002 study by Stephen Lyman, PhD., et al.).

Many youth baseball organizations don’t allow sliders or curveballs, but that won’t necessarily stop competitive athletes from practicing the pitch anyway. Parents and coaches should make sure young pitchers are aware of the very real risk these two pitches pose.

Finally, children should vary their sport activities throughout the year. Winter, summer and fall leagues are plentiful, but year-round participation seriously increases the risk of injury.

Benjamin Busfield M.D. is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and fellowship-trained sports medicinespecialist. He is affiliated with the Sutter East Bay Medical Foundation.

Making sure you and your family are getting nutrients you need doesn’t have to be confusing.

What may be the best way to figure out if a food is good for you can actually be pretty easy — check out the Nutrition Facts Panel. Found on the side or back of a food package, it gives the details about the amount of calories, fat, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and minerals found in the food.

How to Read a Food Label

When looking at the label, start with the number of servings per container. If it says there are two servings in the container but you plan on eating the whole thing, you need to multiply all the values listed on the label by two to find out what you’re really going to get.

Next, check the calories. Is it the amount you want to eat? Your body needs calories for energy, but eating more than you need can lead to weight gain.

Look for lots of fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C and calcium. These nutrients will help you stay in good health and help reduce the risk of certain health problems, yet most Americans don’t get enough of them.

In fact, the gap between how much fiber Americans should eat and how much they do eat is so big that experts now recommend people eat both fiber-rich and fiber-fortified foods. Foods that provide a good source of fiber should contain 10 percent or more of the Daily Value for fiber.

To find foods that have fiber, look for such ingredients as: Arabinoxylan, Beta-glucan, Carboxymethylcellulose, Cellulose, Chicory Root Fiber, Inulin, Methylcellulose, Resistant maltodextrin, Pectin, Polydextrose and Resistant starch.

It is important to eat a wide range of dietary fibers from different sources to get all the benefits that fiber can provide. In addition, you should try to limit saturated fat, trans fat and sodium.

Learn More

You can find more information about nutrition labels at www.fda.gov and further facts about fiber at www.fiberfacts.org.

CAPTION: Check the labels of foods you buy to be sure you’re getting enough fiber.

Eating right is essential to keeping your body running at its best. But nutrition advice doesn’t always account for people’s varied lifestyles, health needs and tastes.

March, which is National Nutrition Month, is an excellent opportunity to review your diet and make positive, sustainable changes.

So what’s the “right” way to eat for you? Experts say it’s not as restrictive as you may think.

“There’s sometimes a misperception that eating properly means giving up favorite foods,” says registered dietitian and President of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Ethan A. Bergman. “But including foods you love in your diet can help you stick to your goals.”

Bergman suggests that those looking to eat a healthy diet, tailor food choices to meet lifestyle, needs and preferences.

• Business People: Busy work days can lead to on-the-fly meals. For desktop dining, keep single-serve packages of crackers, fruit, peanut butter, low-sodium soup or canned tuna in your desk.

• Always on the go? Tuck portable, nonperishable foods in your bag for meals on the run. Try granola bars, peanut butter and crackers, fresh fruit, trail mix, or single-serve packages of whole-grain cereal or crackers.

• Athletes: Whether you’re a competitive athlete or just enjoy working out, what you eat affects your performance. Eat a light meal or snack before exercising, such as low-fat yogurt, a banana or cereal with low-fat milk. Before, during and after exercise, drink plenty of water or a sports drink, if you prefer.

• Students: For nutritious, budget-friendly snacking, combine protein and carbohydrates, such as apples and peanut butter, low-fat cheese and whole-grain crackers or hardboiled eggs and fruit. These also double as quick grab-and-go breakfasts.

At the cafeteria, salad bars are a great choice — just go easy on high-calorie dressings and add-ons.

• Families: Family meals allow parents to be role models to ensure kids eat right. And, just because a meal is made quickly doesn’t mean it can’t be nutritious.

Keep things simple. Choose ingredients you can use for more than one meal. For example, cook extra grilled chicken for salad or fajitas the next day. Get the kids involved. They can make the salad, set the table or do other simple tasks.

• Vegetarians: A vegetarian diet can include just as much variety as one including meat. For example, nutrient-rich beans are a great choice. Enjoy vegetarian chili, a hummus-filled pita sandwich or veggie burger. Many popular items are or can be vegetarian — pasta primavera, veggie pizza and tofu-vegetable stir-fry.

• Meat lovers: Keep your meaty meals heart-healthy by selecting lean cuts and choosing chicken, turkey and fish more often. Avoid deep-fried foods. Instead, bake, broil, roast, stew or stir-fry your meals.

This month, set yourself up for success. Consider working with a registered dietitian to develop a personalized eating plan.

More tips can be found at www.EatRight.org.

— StatePoint

CAPTION: Salad bars are a great alternative to a heavy meal when dining out… just go easy on those high-calorie dressings and add-ons.

BY TANYA GROSSMAN, MPT

Special to the Times

Preventing injuries is always best. Good body mechanics can help you avoid injury, whether you are playing on the soccer field, typing at your desk or lifting your toddler.

How You Move

Body mechanics is the study of human movement — how the joints, muscles and bones work together during a particular motion or physical activity. There is an ideal way to move your body so that everything is in proper alignment, creating the least amount of stress.

Cumulative Stress

Poor body mechanics can be caused by bad posture, poor ergonomics at work and improper athletic technique. Each of these factors can affect the motion or biomechanics of the joint, as weakened or tired muscles no longer keep the joints in proper alignment.

When body parts become misaligned, wear and tear on the joints and muscles often occurs over time with repetitive motion.

For example, if you are sitting at your work desk incorrectly with your spine out of alignment, you can injure your lower back over time. And, craning your neck to view your computer screen, day in and day out, can cause a neck injury.

The accumulative effect of poor body mechanics can also affect athletes. Using improper technique, athletes, such as pitchers and golfers, can injure their shoulder joints from the cumulative trauma of repeatedly performing the same motion.

Conditioning

You may know how to stand with the correct posture, employ good ergonomics or pitch a ball with proper technique. However, if your muscles are not strong or flexible enough to help you keep your bones and joints in proper alignment, you will eventually be unable to maintain it.

Preventing Injuries

Be sure to take breaks at work and on the playing field. Even with perfect ergonomics, it’s hard to hold a position for longer than 45 minutes at our work desks. Frequent rest periods can also help “weekend warriors,” or athletes who are not conditioned, to prevent overuse injuries.

Other preventative measures include: exercising regularly and consistently, strengthening and stretching muscle groups, and practicing good posture, ergonomics and technique.

Physical Therapy

A physical therapist can help you prevent further injury by evaluating your problem and helping determine physical factors that may be contributing to the pain.

Treatment most likely would also include body-mechanics training and helping you find your “neutral position.” With regards to the spine, this is when each of the vertebrae is correctly aligned on top of one another.

We have neutral positions for other parts of our body, as well, where we can create the maximum amount of force with the minimum amount of stress to our joints, tendons and ligaments.

If you are injured, physical therapists at Eden Medical Center have expertise in a wide variety of techniques to address the problem. Treatment would include:

• Thorough initial assessment to determine the factors contributing to your injury

• Ergonomic evaluations and posture training

• Rotator cuff stabilization for the shoulder

• Stability training for the core muscles — abdomen, lower back and hips

Other common physical-therapy treatment modalities may include heat, ice, massage, electrical stimulation and ultrasound.

Ask your doctor to refer you to a physical therapist who can assess your body mechanics and develop a treatment plan to heal and prevent injuries.

Tanya Grossman is a physical therapist at Eden Medical Center’s Outpatient Rehabilitation Facility, 14207 East 14th St., in San Leandro. For more information, call 510-618-1800 or visit edenmedcenter.org.

BY JEFFREY WEST, M.D., FACC

Special to the Times

This year, coronary artery disease (CAD) will claim the lives of more women than any other disease. Too often, women are unaware that CAD is a serious health risk and don’t get evaluated for heart disease, even though it could save their lives.

Coronary artery disease

CAD is a type of heart disease that occurs when fat and cholesterol, known as plaque, buildup in the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart. The plaque causes narrowing in the blood vessels, which reduces the flow of blood. Most heart attacks occur when a blood clot forms on the plaque and cuts off the blood supply to the heart.

On average, women develop CAD 10 years later than men. This may be due to the protective role estrogen is thought to play in preventing heart disease.

When women go through menopause, their estrogen levels drop, which may place them at greater risk for coronary artery disease.

Same disease, different symptoms

Chest pain is a common symptom of CAD in both men and women, but they often experience it differently. Men tend to feel sharp chest pain during physical exertion, while in women, chest pain may occur with exertion or with mental stress alone. Women may also experience unexplained fatigue or shortness of breath.

What’s your risk?

Common risk factors in both men and women include smoking, high blood pressure, high LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, low HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, diabetes, lack of exercise.

African-American and Latina/Hispanic women have a greater prevalence of certain risk factors, so they tend to have a higher risk for coronary artery disease.

While both men and women can have high LDL cholesterol, women naturally have higher levels of the “good” HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol than men, which help to remove the “bad” LDL cholesterol from the arteries. So, low HDL levels in women are a serious risk factor for heart disease.

Diagnosis

A cardiac stress test is often used to diagnose CAD in both men and women by monitoring the heart’s electrical activity and pumping performance. However, even when their hearts are healthy, women are more likely than men to show irregularities during cardiac stress tests. This can create a false positive for heart disease, so doctors also use an imaging test to confirm the results of stress tests in women.

If you are diagnosed with CAD, there are many effective medications and surgeries available that are equally successful in both men and women.

Heart health

Prevent a heart attack by catching heart disease before symptoms begin. Have your cholesterol and blood pressure levels checked regularly beginning at age 45. You can also reduce your risk for coronary artery disease by

• Maintaining a healthy weight

• Eating a diet low in fat, salt and simple sugars

• Exercising regularly (at least 30 minutes, five times a week)

• Quitting smoking

• Maintaining optimal cholesterol and blood pressure values

February is American Heart Month. Take the opportunity to talk with your doctor about your heart health.

Jeffrey A. West, M.D., FACC, is a cardiologist affiliated with Eden Medical Center.

CAPTION: Establishing a routine of regular exercise can reduce your risk for coronary artery disease.