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"You&amp;amp;#8217;ve got more than love to celebrate this month! According to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, the number of women dying from heart disease fell by a whopping 10 percent from 2000 to 2005. That&amp;amp;#8217;s fantastic news. But experts warn that young women can&amp;amp;#8217;t rest on their laurels&amp;amp;#8212;cardiovascular-disease deaths actually dropped by less than one percent among women 25 to 34. The lag can be blamed on a variety of factors, but at least one of them is completely within our control: According to experts, young women are often more reluctant than older patients to make lifestyle tweaks that could save their lives. &amp;amp;#8220;In general, women in their forties and up are much more willing to make tough changes like stopping smoking,&amp;amp;#8221; says Susan K. Bennett, M.D., clinical director of the Women&amp;amp;#8217;s Heart Program at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C. &amp;amp;#8220;Young women just don&amp;amp;#8217;t feel the urgency. But the patterns they set now truly affect what&amp;amp;#8217;s going to happen later.&amp;amp;#8221; Are you doing enough to address your risks? To find out, ask yourself these seven questions: 1 HAVE YOU EVER TALKED HEART DISEASE WITH YOUR M.D.? Lifestyle-related heart risks like high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes are hitting women earlier and earlier. Still, many doctors don&amp;amp;#8217;t think to talk about them with younger patients, says Elizabeth G. Nabel, M.D., director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. That means it may be up to you to ask your doctor if your lifestyle or test results suggest you are at risk for heart disease. And, if you ever do suspect problems, you may need to press the point with E.R. staff. &amp;amp;#8220;Doctors don&amp;amp;#8217;t always put the pieces together,&amp;amp;#8221; says Dr. Bennett. &amp;amp;#8220;If a 35-year-old woman who&amp;amp;#8217;s not obese or a smoker comes in with chest pain, they may blow her off thinking she&amp;amp;#8217;s not a candidate for heart attack. But timely treatment is crucial.&amp;amp;#8221; 2 DOES HEART DISEASE RUN IN YOUR FAMILY? Your risk soars 70 percent if you have a parent who got heart disease early (before 55 for Dad or 65 for Mom). Having a sibling with heart trouble may mean greater risk too. So the first thing to talk to your doctor about is family history. Together you can be vigilant about risk factors like diabetes or high cholesterol. 3 WHAT&amp;amp;#8217;S YOUR WAIST SIZE? Women with waists larger than 35 inches are more likely to die young of heart disease than those with smaller midsections, according to recent research from Harvard Medical School. One of the best ways to trim excess belly fat? Forty-five minutes to an hour of cardio exercise (like brisk walking or biking) four to five times a week. 4 ARE YOU A SMOKER? A young female smoker&amp;amp;#8217;s risk of stroke may be up to nine times higher than that of a nonsmoker, a recent study from University of Maryland in Baltimore found. The more you puff, the higher your risk. &amp;amp;#8220;The 4,000-plus chemicals in cigarettes make your blood more prone to clots, even if you&amp;amp;#8217;re a weekend smoker,&amp;amp;#8221; says lead author John Cole, M.D. If you&amp;amp;#8217;re on the Pill, smoking is even more dangerous, since hormonal contraceptives also slightly increase the risk of clotting and stroke. 5 DO YOU SNORE? Snoring is the number-one symptom of sleep apnea, a disorder in which airways partly collapse during sleep, interrupting breathing. Experts know that severe apnea may boost heart risk by increasing blood pressure&amp;amp;#8212;but a new study suggests that even mild cases might cause harm. So if you snore, see your doc. 6 DO YOU EAT WHITE OR WHOLE-WHEAT? Having one extra serving of whole grains each day&amp;amp;#8212;that&amp;amp;#8217;s just a slice of whole-wheat bread or a half cup of brown rice&amp;amp;#8212;could lower your risk for heart failure by 7 percent, a new study found. &amp;amp;#8220;The most beneficial thing about grains is the fiber,&amp;amp;#8221; says Dr. Bennett. &amp;amp;#8220;Women need to aim for about 30 grams of fiber a day. Fruits and veggies are also excellent sources.&amp;amp;#8221; 7 HOW ACTIVE ARE YOU? If you get less than 30 minutes of physical activity a day, your heart is at risk. Sedentary people are nearly twice as likely to get cardiovascular disease as those who move more&amp;amp;#8212;whether it&amp;amp;#8217;s a walk or a full-on workout."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/2009/01/the-three-minute-heart-health-check-you-need>