for women stress aspirin
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Virtually all women are at
risk of heart disease and doctors should more strongly consider prescribing a
daily aspirin for their female patients, the American Heart Association said in
new guidelines released on Monday.
The new guidelines greatly
boost the recommended amount of exercise to at least an hour on most days of the
week. They say women should be counseled more strongly to lose weight, eat more
fresh vegetables, eat less fat and to quit smoking, according to the new
guidelines.
"Nearly all women are at risk
for cardiovascular disease, underscoring the importance of a heart-healthy
lifestyle in everyone," Dr. Lori Mosca of the New York-Presbyterian Hospital and
colleagues wrote in their report in the guidelines, published in the journal
Circulation.
"Since the last guidelines
were developed, more definitive clinical trials became available to suggest that
health care providers should consider aspirin in women to prevent stroke," Mosca
said in a statement.
"We have more aggressive
recommendations for high-risk women, and strongly emphasize lifestyle strategies
to reduce risk in all women," she added.
The new guidelines recommend
that women change their eating and exercise habits to control blood pressure.
They also recommend that:
— Women should
not only quit smoking but should use counseling, nicotine replacement or other
forms of smoking cessation therapy.
— Women should exercise at
least 60 to 90 minutes on most, and preferably all, days of the week, at levels
equivalent to brisk walking.
— Women should lower
saturated fat intake to less than 7 percent of calories.
— Women should eat oily fish
or some other source of omega-3 fatty acids at least twice a
week
— Hormone replacement therapy
and selective estrogen receptor modulators such as the osteoporosis drug
raloxifene are not recommended to prevent heart disease in
women.
— Supplements such as vitamin
E, C, folic acid and beta-carotene do not prevent heart disease and should not
be taken to prevent it. "The new guidelines reinforce that unregulated dietary
supplements are not a method proven to prevent heart disease," Mosca
said.
— Routine low dose aspirin
therapy may be considered in women age 65 or older regardless of heart
risk.
— Women with a very high risk
of heart disease should aim to lower their LDL (low density lipoprotein or "bad"
cholesterol) to less than 70 mg/dL.
Heart disease is the largest
single cause of death among women, accounting for 38 percent of all female
deaths.
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