Partners & Resources — Living Well
We are each stronger through collaboration and partnership
Serving NM families, WHS works with a range of partners
To improve the health of women and families, WHS values its strong relationships
Living Well
We believe that health is a balance of many aspects of our lives—physical well-being, nutrition, exercise, family & friends, and managing our stresses. There is a lot of this that is outside our influence and much of it that we do have control over.
In our Living Well section, we offer practical hands-on tips for good health, research/science- based information, and local ideas for fun and accessible activities—all with the goal of sharing tools and resources. We also give details on our next Living Well class for the community. We welcome feedback and ideas.
We encourage women to make their health a top priority and to remember that taking care of themselves is essential to living longer, healthier, and happier lives.
Heart Health & Women
Education & Helpful Tips
From the Heart Truth Campaign/ NIH and Office of Women’s Health
Link: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/educational/hearttruth/lower-risk/index.htm
The Heart Truth – Lower Heart Disease Risk
What is Heart Disease?
When you hear the term “heart disease,” you may think, “That’s a man’s disease” or “Not my problem.” But here is The Heart Truth®: one in four women in the United States dies of heart disease, while one in 30 dies of breast cancer. If you’ve got a heart, heart disease could be your problem. Learn more about heart disease.
What Are the Risk Factors for Heart Disease?
An astonishing 80 percent of women ages 40 to 60 have one or more risk factor for heart disease, including smoking, being overweight, hypertension, high cholesterol, and low rates of physical activity. Having one or more risk factors dramatically increases a woman’s chance of developing heart disease because risk factors tend to worsen each other’s effects. In fact, according to research compiled by the NHLBI, having just one risk factor doubles your chance of developing heart disease.
Whatever a woman’s age, she needs to take action to protect her heart health. Heart disease can begin early, even in the teen years, and women in their 20s and 30s need to take action to reduce their risk of developing heart disease.
How Do I Find Out if I Am at Risk for Heart Disease?
Some women believe that doing just one healthy thing will take care of all their heart disease risk. For example, they may think that if they walk or swim regularly, they can still smoke and stay fairly healthy. This is wrong. To protect your heart, it is vital to make changes that address each risk factor you have.
A damaged heart can damage your life by interfering with enjoyable activities and even your ability to do simple things, such as taking a walk or climbing steps. Heart disease cannot be “cured.” It is a lifelong condition—once you get it, you’ll always have it.
Fortunately, it’s a problem you can do something about. Find out your risk for heart disease and take steps to prevent and control it. Talk to your practitioner to get more answers. Start taking action today to protect your heart. By doing just 4 things—eating right, being physically active, not smoking, and keeping a healthy weight—you can reduce your risk of heart disease by as much as 82 percent. Visit The Heart Truth’s tools and resources(http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/educational/hearttruth/lower-risk/index.htm).
Research Corner
Please see the attached article:
“New insights into ischemic heart disease in women.” Bellasi, Raggi, Merz and Shaw; Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine, Number 74, Volume 8; August 2007 (348KB PDF)
Our Community/ Santa Fe Focus
There are numerous resources throughout Santa Fe, including community centers:
Genoveva Chavez Community Center
Ft. Marcy Complex
Salvador Perez
Spread the Health Santa Fe!—National Women’s Health Week
WHS celebrated Santa Fe women and girls by hosting a sponsoring a week of activities, a website full of information (www.spreadthehealthsantafe.org), and a wealth of downloadable materials to accomplish our goals. We connected women in our community with Santa Fe area women’s health partners, businesses, and supporters. Women’s Health Services embodies the mission of National Women’s Health Week all year long as we serve women and their families in Santa Fe and our surrounding communities.
Materials
- Youth friendly materials
Teen Guide– Your Visit to the Doctor (266KB PDF)
Teen Health Bookmark (315KB PDF) - Heart Health brochure– 2 attached
English | Español - Videos/training
Presentation: Lifestyle & Heart Health. JTrott (1MB PPT)
Training Video: Women & Heart Disease. Dr. Bairey-Merz (163MB MOV)