10th May is Mother’s day: Give your mother a heart check  Thursday 7th May: 2009: Over 60% of the mothers believe their biggest health threat is breast cancer but heart disease kills six times as many women as breast cancer, said Dr K K Aggarwal President, Heart Care Foundation of India and Director, IMA AKN Sinha Institute. Dr Aggarwal said that some risk factors are different for women than for men. Heart disease symptoms may be milder in women.  Heart attacks often strike without warning. If a woman does not realize heart disease is a health threat, she will not make heart healthy changes or respond to symptoms once they occur. 1.   Her father or brother under age 55 or her mother or sister under age 65 has had a heart attack, stroke, angioplasty or bypass surgery. 2.  She is over 55 years old. (After age 65, the death rate increases sharply for women.) 3.  She smokes or is exposed to secondhand smoke every day. 4.  Her blood pressure is over 135/85 mm Hg. Optimal blood  pressure is 120/80 mm Hg. Drug therapy is indicated when blood pressure is >140/90 mm Hg, or an even lower blood pressure in the setting of chronic kidney disease or diabetes (> 130/90 mm Hg). 5.  She does not exercise for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, like taking a brisk walk, on most days.  For weight control, women need to exercise with 60-90 minutes of a moderate-intensity activity most days. Eighty percent of  women don't exercise regularly. 6.  She has diabetes. After age 45, diabetes affects many more women than men. If diabetic, aim to achieve an HbA1c < 7%. 7.  Her HDL (High Density Lipo-protein or "good" cholesterol) is less than 50mg/dL. 8.  Her bad LDL-C cholesterol is > 100mg/dL. 9.  If she has high cholesterol levels and she takes more than 7% saturated fat or more than <200 mg/d cholesterol in the diet. 10.  Her bad LDL cholesterol is > 70 mg % and she has diabetes and or vadscular disease. 11.  HDL of 60 mg/dL is considered cardio-protective. One can raise the HDL by taking in 2-3T of olive oil daily, quitting smoking, getting regular aerobic exercise and maintaining a healthy weight. 12.  If she is 20 pounds or more overweight. (More than 1/3 of women are more than 20 pounds overweight.) 13.  She has undergone early menopause (medical or surgical before the age of 40.  It is associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease. 14.  She is taking birth control pills greatly increases risk of heart attack and stroke, especially after age 35. 15.  She has a high demand/low control job with sustained high levels of stress. Stress is a normal part of life. Guidelines for healthy life: good life style is · Eating healthy diet: consisting of eating fruits, vegetables and whole-grain high-fiber foods (aim for 5 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of whole fruit daily) · eating fish, especially oily fish*, at least twice a week. Pregnant and lactating women should avoid eating fish potentially high in methylmercury. · Limiting saturated fat to < 10% of energy, and if possible to <7%, cholesterol to <300 mg/dL. · limiting alcohol intake to no more than 1 drink per day · Limiting sodium intake to <2.3 g/d (approximately 1 tsp salt) · Avoiding all trans-fatty acids (listed as "hydrogenated oil" in the ingredients section). · Keeping blood pressure < 120/80 mm Hg.  · Keeping the waist < 35 inches. (Waist measurement of 35 inches or more or waist-to-hip ratio greater than 0.80 is a predictor of high triglycerides and low HDL levels · Having at least three of a cluster of symptoms that are listed below places her at risk [high blood sugar >100 mg/dL after fasting, high triglycerides - at least 150 mg/dL and Low HDL (<50 mg/dL in women)