It is the number one killer of women. In fact, more women will die of heart disease than all forms of cancer combined.
For Tricia Swenson of Interlochen, it only seemed natural to get screened for heart disease. "Both of my grandparents on my mom's side had heart attacks that took their lives and on my dad's side my grandmother had a stroke in her 70's"
Knowing that heart disease runs in her family was part of the reason Tricia contacted Munson Cardiac Prevention and Rehabilitation.
"Things happen in your life, having had breast cancer, now i'm also looking at other things in my life that i can do something proactively about as opposed to waiting for something to happen," explained Tricia.
Mary McManemy is a Registered Nurse and coordinator of Munson's Cardiac Prevention and Rehabilitation Program.
"The American Heart Association, they have a campaign going right now to try to bring awareness to everyone that heart disease is the number killer of americans both men and women, so it's the number cause of death for women," said McManemy. "More women will die of heart attacks than all forms of cancer combined."
To help promote this awareness Munson started the "Heart to Heart" program back in February that screens women for their level of risk for cardiovascular disease.
McManemy says it's the first step to prevention. "We want women to know their numbers including their blood pressure, their lipid profiles, triglycerides and their blood sugar numbers, so we're screening for diabetes, we're looking at depression levels, stress levels, dietary fat intake."
"I thought it was very informative. I had confirmation of things I already knew which I have a weight issue that I need to deal with and just making sure I'm staying on a good diet and getting good exercise," said Tricia.
McManemy says women ages 35 to 60 are at highest risk of cardiovascular disease, but says many don't always experience the classic symptoms such as chest pain.
"Not so much the classic chest discomfort but as long as they know the nausea, shortness of breath, extreme fatigue that those can be symptoms of a heart problem and they should be checked out by a physician."
Currently, the Heart to Heart screening is just for women. The cost is $45, but there is a grant available.
"I think every woman whether she has insurance or can go to a medical doctor, this has grant money available. it's better to be proactive with your health and take care of things before they become serious problems, as opposed to waiting for something serious to happen or even life threatening to happen," said Tricia.
If you don't have health insurance and would like to find out if you are eligible for this grant for a heart screening contact Munson Cardiac Prevention and Rehabilitation Center.
The American Heart Association recommends that women as young as 20 get a screening for heart disease, especially if it runs in their family.
