WEBVTT FILE

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"I never thought that it would
be me having a heart attack…"

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Heart disease is often thought
of as a man's problem, rather

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than a woman's. But if you are
female you may be at a higher

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risk for heart disease than you
think. Women are more likely to

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die from heart disease
than from all forms of cancer

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combined---including breast
cancer. And if you are an

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African American woman with
heart disease you need to be

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especially careful. Studies
have shown that African American

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women have almost twice the risk
of stroke as white women. Heart

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disease is also a major cause
of death for Hispanic and Native

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Americans. Women tend to develop
heart disease later in life than

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men. This may be partly because
throughout your life, hormones,

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including the female hormone
estrogen, have been protecting

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your heart. But in your early
50's, as you are going through

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menopause, some of the risk
factors for heart disease

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increase. Every woman's
menopause experience is

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different. Some
women suffer early menopause and

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lingering symptoms, some
experience later changes

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and symptoms. These symptoms
can interrupt the usual function

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of sleep, mood, sexual drive and
other life changes.   If you are

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considering hormone replacement
therapy to decrease your

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symptoms of menopause, talk to
your healthcare provider first.

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There are many options to manage
the symptoms of menopause. "When

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I was first diagnosed with heart
failure, I was 39 years old. I

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was having trouble-- I was very
tired, just abnormally tired."

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Because heart disease can be
overlooked in women, you need to

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be active in your own
healthcare. "I learn in the hard

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way that it's up to me to
advocate for my own health. No

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one knows your body better
than you do." Even though heart

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disease is often thought of as a
man's disease, as a woman, you

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may be at risk for heart
disease. Go ahead and put

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yourself and your heart on the
top of your priority list. And

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make sure your heart gets
the attention it needs.