Latest / From Recovery to Wellness | Life After Heart Surgery, Aneurysm Repair & Cardiac Healing / Preventing Heart Disease in Women

Transcript

Preventing Heart Disease in Women · From Recovery to Wellness | Life After Heart Surgery, Aneurysm Repair & Cardiac Healing

• 0:07
  Hello, and welcome back to From Recovery to Wellness.
• 0:11
  I'm Arnita, your host, and I'm so glad you're
• 0:14
  here. This season, we were focusing on women's
• 0:19
  heart health. And I just want to say that we
• 0:24
  were we are on our last episode for this season.
• 0:29
  And it is in regard to protecting your heart
• 0:32
  for life, prevention, and empowerment. And that's
• 0:37
  what my goal is, is to empower women with practical
• 0:40
  information, encouragement, and wellness -focused
• 0:43
  tools to help protect and strengthen your hearts.
• 0:47
  We'll explore topics that we've explored, topics
• 0:50
  that affect... women throughout every stage of
• 0:53
  life, including heart disease risk factors, pregnancy
• 0:57
  and childbirth related heart risk, menopause,
• 1:01
  stress, sleep, nutrition, physical activity,
• 1:06
  emotional well -being, and the unique ways heart
• 1:09
  disease can present in women. Whether you're
• 1:13
  managing risk factors, recovering from a cardiac
• 1:16
  event, supported a loved one, or simply seeking
• 1:19
  to improve your heart health, this series was
• 1:23
  designed with you in mind. Today, again, we're
• 1:27
  discussing protecting your heart for life, prevention,
• 1:30
  and empowerment. So let's get started. Throughout
• 1:34
  this season, we've explored how women's heart
• 1:36
  health is shaped by many interconnected factors
• 1:39
  across the lifespan. We've talked about pregnancy
• 1:43
  and how it places significant demands on the
• 1:45
  cardiovascular system. We've looked at conditions
• 1:49
  like preeclampsia that can signal long -term
• 1:51
  heart risk. We've discussed hormonal transition
• 1:54
  such as menopause and the use of hormone replacement
• 1:58
  therapy. We've examined autoimmune conditions
• 2:01
  like lupus, infection -related heart damage from
• 2:06
  rheumatic fever, and the role of chronic inflammation.
• 2:10
  And we've also acknowledged something very important,
• 2:13
  not all women experience heart health in the
• 2:15
  same way. Some face barriers in diagnosis, some
• 2:20
  face delays in care, and some face systemic differences
• 2:25
  in how their symptoms are recognized and treated.
• 2:28
  Then we put all of this together, when we put
• 2:32
  all of this together, a clear picture begins
• 2:35
  to form. Heart health is not shaped by a single
• 2:38
  moment in time. It's shaped over a lifetime.
• 2:42
  It's shaped by biology. Yes, but also lived experience,
• 2:47
  access to care, awareness, and early recognition.
• 2:51
  And perhaps, most importantly, it is shaped by
• 2:55
  what we notice about our own bodies along the
• 2:57
  way. Prevention in heart health is often misunderstood.
• 3:03
  It is not about perfection. It is not about ever
• 3:08
  making mistakes. And it is not about achieving
• 3:11
  a single ideal lifestyle. Prevention is about
• 3:15
  awareness. It is about noticing patterns in your
• 3:19
  body. It is about paying attention when something
• 3:23
  feels different. It is about asking questions
• 3:27
  when something doesn't feel right and being an
• 3:30
  advocate for yourself. And it is about understanding
• 3:34
  that your heart has been with you through every
• 3:36
  stage of your life, quietly adapting, responding,
• 3:41
  and carrying you forward. And did you know a
• 3:46
  large portion of your cardiovascular disease
• 3:48
  risk can be reduced through early awareness,
• 3:52
  lifestyle support, and timely intervention? And
• 3:57
  with that, I'm gonna, before I close, I'm gonna...
• 4:02
  provide you with the food of the week, which
• 4:04
  is something that we do weekly. Today, this week,
• 4:09
  it's mixed nuts. Mixed nuts provide healthy fats,
• 4:16
  protein, and nutrients that support overall cardiovascular
• 4:20
  function. I keep nuts in my pantry because I
• 4:26
  will easily go grab something sweet. And I'm
• 4:30
  still wrestling with that. I'm human too. I have
• 4:34
  my flaws, my weaknesses, and my guilty pleasures.
• 4:39
  And so I keep nuts in my pantry when I, that's
• 4:43
  my go -to snack. And my, my favorite, favorite
• 4:46
  go -to snack is popcorn. which I eat just about
• 4:51
  faithfully every day. And that's a good source
• 4:54
  of fiber as well. So for the snacks, I just,
• 4:58
  and my popcorn, I must say, doesn't have any
• 5:01
  salt or anything on it unless I add it. But usually
• 5:04
  I eat it plain and no butter. It's not that theater
• 5:10
  popcorn. I wished it were, but I've gotten used
• 5:13
  to eating it just practically plain. Now, I just
• 5:19
  want to also add that instead of asking you to
• 5:25
  reflect on information, I want to invite you
• 5:28
  to simply notice something about yourself. Just
• 5:33
  take a moment and ask yourself, what has your
• 5:36
  body been communicating to you lately? Not what
• 5:40
  you should fix, not what you should change, just
• 5:44
  what you notice. because awareness is often the
• 5:48
  beginning of prevention. You do not have to have
• 5:51
  all of the answers about your health, but you
• 5:54
  are allowed to pay attention, and you should.
• 5:57
  You are allowed to listen to your body without
• 5:59
  fear, and you should. And you are allowed to
• 6:03
  take your health seriously without pressure,
• 6:05
  without judgment, and without waiting for a crisis
• 6:09
  to do so, and you most definitely should. As
• 6:13
  we close this season, I want to leave you with
• 6:16
  this. Your heart health is not defined by a diagnosis,
• 6:21
  it is not defined by a risk factor, and it is
• 6:26
  not defined by a single moment in time. It is
• 6:30
  defined by the ongoing relationship you have
• 6:33
  with your body and the care you choose to give
• 6:36
  it along the way. So with that, I want to thank
• 6:41
  you for joining me for this season of From Recovery
• 6:44
  to Wellness. I'm honored to be a part of your
• 6:46
  wellness journey. I hope today's episode and
• 6:50
  the entire women's heart health segment has provided
• 6:57
  information, encouragement, and practical steps
• 7:01
  you can use to support your heart health. So
• 7:05
  until next season, take care of your heart. take
• 7:09
  care of yourself, and remember, be well.