Women’s health is a growing concern—did you know that nearly 40 percent of women over the age of 20 have hypertension, or that one in three women die due to heart attack or stroke? Below are some of Bel Marra Health’s most informative articles on women’s health, featuring information on women’s heart attack risk, lower abdominal pain, and the prevalence of bone loss.
Exercise beneficial for postmenopausal women
Postmenopausal women looking to manage their symptoms through means other than hormone therapy may find relief with regular exercise, according to a new study from the University of Grenada in Spain. Hot flashes and night sweats are among the most common symptoms associated with menopause, along with disruptions of mood and weight gain, and this research has found that moderate exercise can reduce their severity.
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To conduct the study, researchers gathered 234 women who were at minimum one-year postmenopausal and split them into two groups based on average activity. Out of the group, 166 women were found to lead mostly sedative lifestyles and the remaining 68 were already physically active. The team then divided the sedentary group into two sections. Participants in the first section were to continue their sedentary lifestyle, while participants in the second group were placed on a 20-week exercise program. Continue reading…
Heart attack symptoms in women over 50: Facts on women and heart disease
February 3, 2017 was National Wear Red Day, an event held by the American Heart Association that raises awareness about the high risk of heart disease among women. Women have nearly double the risk of dying due to a heart attack as men do, and education about the signs and symptoms is necessary in order to help reduce and prevent these potentially fatal events from occurring. Continue reading…
Tips for reducing the risk of heart attack in women
Approximately 43 million American women have heart disease, though many of them do not even realize it. Heart disease is the number one cause of death among Americans, and both men and women need to be aware of their specific risk factors and symptoms as these can vary by sex. February is American Heart Month, and in recognition of National Wear Red Day—which took place on February 5th to raise awareness for women’s heart health—we’ve compiled some tips to help the females in your life reduce their risk of suffering a heart attack or other cardiac event. Continue reading…
Lower abdominal pain in women: Causes and treatments
A lot of people experience tummy pain at some point in their lives, but lower abdominal pain in women is rather common. The reasons for this pain vary from person to person, so treatment should not follow a one size fits all approach.
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The abdomen is the area containing your digestive organs and is bound by the pelvic bone and diaphragm. Abdominal pain, including lower abdominal pain, is usually a term used to describe the pain that comes from organs within the abdominal cavity. Those organs include the stomach, small intestine, colon, liver, gallbladder, spleen, and pancreas. In women, the lowest portion of the abdomen is actually the pelvis and involves the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. Sometimes it can be hard to tell if the pain is in the abdomen or the pelvis area. Lower abdominal pain can be frightening for a woman since there is a tendency for them to think that it could jeopardize their reproductive process, but that is not always the case. The most common reason for lower abdominal pain in women is menstruation. Continue reading…
Anti-inflammatory diet may reduce bone loss in women
New research published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research suggests that women who consume a diet high in anti-inflammatories experience less bone loss than their peers. The study examined data from the Women’s Health Initiative and compared inflammatory elements of participants’ diets to their bone mineral density and fractures, discovering a connection between food and bone health.
To conduct the study, researchers reviewed the dietary information from 160,191 women between the ages of 50 and 79 who were post-menopausal and gave each an inflammation score based on the Dietary Inflammation Index. This index assesses the nutrients consumed and dictates how inflammatory the diet is based on 32 components. The research team also utilized bone-mineral density data from a subset of 10,290 women, and fracture data that was collected from the entire group. Continue reading…
