The differences between men and women’s health go beyond OB-GYN visits and pink-ribbon “save the boobies” campaigns. Even major issues that affect both genders have different symptoms and risks for men and women.
10 Things He Should Know
1. You Aren’t Too Young For A Heart Attack
Even young, trim and healthy men are at risk for a heart attack. Ten percent of all heart attacks occur in men under the age of 45, according to Harvard Men’s Health Watch.
American Heart Association studies show that someone in the U.S. has a heart attack every 34 seconds.
In the time it takes to stir a cup of coffee, check your email or kiss your kids goodnight, you or one of your friends could be experiencing the symptoms of a heart attack.
Uncomfortable pressure or pain in your chest, shortness of breath and pain in your limbs or stomach are warning signs that should not be ignored.
2. You Need A Doctor Too
Half of all men will develop cancer in their lifetimes, according to the American Cancer Society. One in every six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer.
The only way to beat these odds is through prevention and vigilant awareness.
Regular screenings and skin checks are uncomfortable, but they can save your life. Lifestyle changes can also help reduce the risk of the two most common kinds of cancer: skin and lung cancer.
The rules you tell your children apply to everyone: wear sunscreen, don’t smoke, and don’t be scared to see a doctor.
3. 80 Percent of Strokes Are Preventable
Stroke is the number four cause of death in the U.S. and the leading cause of disability in both men and women, according to the American Stroke Association.
Someone dies of a stroke every four minutes.
However, knowing the factors which put you at risk for a stroke can help you to prevent it. Having diabetes, heart disease or using tobacco products will increase the risk of having a stroke.
The key to prevention is engaging in a healthy lifestyle and managing blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
4. Too Much Sugar Is Not Good For Your Heart
Type 2 Diabetes is caused when your body becomes resistant to insulin or stops producing it. As a result, it is unable to break down glucose, the sugars in food that provide energy in cells.
This hurts other organs, such as the eyes, kidneys or heart. Diabetes can increase the risk of having a stroke or developing heart disease, according to the American Diabetes Association.
Maintaining a healthy weight and eating a healthy diet are two of the easiest ways to reduce the risks.
5. Weight Gain Is A Big Problem
In 2008, around 35 percent of adults were considered overweight, according to the most recent data from the World Health Organization.
In addition, about 205 million men were considered obese.Obesity is different than being overweight. Obesity is having too much body fat to be healthy, according to UF Health.
It can cause problems with heart disease, blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes. Because it increases the risks of these conditions, it is important to manage the risk factors for obesity.
Although genetics and environmental factors play a role, changing diet and exercise habits can help prevent obesity.
6. You Are Not Invincible
Injury is the leading cause of death in people under the age of 44, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This can be a result of a motor vehicle accident, falls or homicide. However, the risk is greater for men than women.
Since accidents can happen to anyone in any situation, the only way to prevent them is to be cautious and aware of how easily an unintentional injury can happen to you.
7. Kidneys Aren’t Free
About 26 million Americans have kidney disease, according to the National Kidney Foundation.
Kidney disease includes conditions that damage the kidneys. As kidney function decreases, waste builds up in the blood, which can cause people to feel sick.
It can increase the risk of heart disease. It also can be caused by high blood pressure and diabetes.
Because these conditions are related, it is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle and seek treatment early.
Early detection and treatment can stop the disease before it requires the long process of finding and receiving a kidney transplant.
8. The Brain and Heart Aren’t That Far Apart
An American develops Alzheimer’s disease every 68 seconds, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia are caused by damage to brain cells. While much of this damage is irreversible, there are some steps that can be taken to reduce damage.
Maintaining a healthy heart, eating healthy and exercising regularly can help reduce the risk of memory loss and brain damage. Steps taken to protect the heart will benefit the brain as well.
9. Men Can Have Feelings Too
Men are less likely than women to be diagnosed with depression. However, more than 6 million men have depression each year, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
One reason men are diagnosed less often is because they are less willing to admit problems with depression and other disorders.
Additionally, the symptoms of depression can be different for men. Men tend to be more tired and irritable and have feelings of frustration, discouragement and anger.
Depression can occur in patients with chronic conditions and worsen recovery. As a result, it is important to seek help when you notice these feelings interfering with daily life.
Mental health isn’t an issue to downplay or ignore. It’s a disease that can be fatal if left untreated.
The risk of suicide is much higher in men than women. In 2009, 79 percent of all suicides were men, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
10. Your Body Can Be Your Worst Enemy
Although they are less common, autoimmune diseases in men are often more severe.
Autoimmune diseases occur when the body’s immune system attacks the organs it was designed to protect, according to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association.
It includes a range of more than 80 types of disorders such as celiac disease, type 1 diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
Although autoimmune diseases are not always as deadly as other diseases, they are widespread. It is estimated that 23.5 million Americans suffer from an autoimmune-related illness and this number will rise as researchers develop new ways to treat and diagnose this category of illness.
10 Things She Should Know
1. Heart Attacks Aren’t Just For Men
More women die of heart disease than men. Heart disease causes 1 out of every 4 deaths in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Although women tend to think it can’t happen to them, their risk for a heart attack increases greatly after menopause.
As Elizabeth Banks demonstrated with the American Heart Association’s “Go Red For Women” campaign, there is no such thing as “just a little heart attack.”
Many women downplay their symptoms and ignore their own health while they take care of their jobs or families.
They may also miss some of the other symptoms of a heart attack: neck, shoulder or back pain, nausea or vomiting, or unusual fatigue.
2. Tanning Beds Really Are Bad
One-third of all women will develop cancer in their lifetimes, according to the American Cancer Society. One in eight women will develop breast cancer.
However, nearly half of all cancer diagnoses are from skin cancer.
More than 3.5 million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed annually, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. The most deadly kind of skin cancer is melanoma. One person dies from melanoma every 57 minutes.
Eighty-six percent of melanoma cases can be attributed to UV radiation from the sun or tanning beds.
Wearing sunscreen and engaging in a healthy lifestyle can help prevent the risk of developing skin cancer.
3. Using Birth Control Can Double Your Risk Of Stroke
Strokes are more deadly for women than men. More than 100,000 women each year under the age of 65 have strokes, according to the American Stroke Association.
Although high blood pressure and heart disease are the most well-known risk factors, there are others that are especially dangerous for women.
Both birth control and pregnancy can increase the risk of strokes in women. Additionally, women with chronic migraines are 10 times as likely to have a stroke.
One of the most important defenses against stroke is knowing the signs and seeking help immediately. Three main indicators of a stroke are arm weakness, face drooping and speech difficulty. These symptoms require immediate medical attention to prevent long-term damage or fatalities from stroke.
4. It’s More Than Eating Too Many Sweets
Diabetes affects more than 25 million Americans, according to the American Diabetes Association.
For women, this can happen unexpectedly during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes occurs with 18 percent of pregnancies.
For many women, it goes away after birth, but it can return in future pregnancies or develop into type 2 diabetes.
However, a healthy lifestyle can help to prevent developing type 2 diabetes. Losing 7 percent of your body weight and exercising regularly can reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes by 58 percent.
5. It Really Isn’t Fair
Women are more likely to be obese than men, according to the World Health Organization.
While weight gain can be a struggle for both genders, it can be more difficult for women to control.
Menopause and pregnancy weight all can contribute to weight gain in women, which often leads to obesity.In addition, stress, antidepressants and birth control pills can cause weight gain.
As a result it is even more critical to do what you can to minimize the risk. Eating healthy and exercising are the first steps to maintaining a healthy weight.
6. Your Twenties Is About More Than Finding Yourself
It’s also a critical time for bone health. Osteoporosis affects 10 million Americans.
Eighty percent of osteoporosis cases are women, according to North Florida Regional Medical Center.
Osteoporosis causes a person’s bones to become brittle and break easily. This intensifies as a woman reaches menopause.
By the time a woman reaches 30, her bones stop accumulating more mass and begin to lose more than they replace. To prevent osteoporosis, it is important for women to get enough calcium and vitamin D in their teens and twenties.
7. Don’t Forget About Your Kidneys
Early diagnosis can be the key to treating kidney disease.
However, women tend to be diagnosed with kidney disease much later than men, according to a study by Dr. Maya Rao of Columbia University.
The levels used to detect kidney disease tend to show up lower in women.
Because it can be difficult to detect, it is important to know the symptoms and discuss anything strange with your doctor.
According to North Florida Regional Medical Center the main symptoms are fluid retention, swollen hands and feet, low urine output and a loss of appetite.
8. It’s Getting Worse
Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia that gradually gets worse over time. If affects more than five million Americans. However, this number is projected to triple by 2050, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
It is more common in women.
Alzheimer’s disease can have similar symptoms to dementia in the beginning. However, the symptoms are more distinct as it progresses. Early indicators include: having difficulty performing complex tasks, getting lost on familiar routes, problems with language and changes in mood or personality.
Although there is no cure, a healthy lifestyle can help reduce the risk and early detection can help a patient get the best treatments available.
9. You Aren’t The Only One
While it is normal to experience grief after a loss or during difficult times of life, depression is when these types of feelings linger for months and prevent you from having an otherwise normal life.
One in every four women will have an episode of depression, according to WebMD. Depression affects 15 million people in the U.S.
These episodes can be minor, lasting for a couple of weeks, or they can go on for months or years. It also can manifest as postpartum depression, which affects more than 10 percent of women, according to the National Institute for Mental Health.
The symptoms can include trouble sleeping, low self-esteem, fatigue, apathy, and lack of appetite and interest in activities.
About half of all depression cases go untreated, according to WebMD. Without clinical treatment, these episodes can last for years.
The risk of suicide is real. One out of every 10 people with depression commits suicide.
If you have symptoms of depression, it’s important to seek help immediately and find support. You aren’t the only one.
10. It’s Not All In Your Head
One in every 12 women will develop an autoimmune disease, according to WebMD.
Autoimmune diseases target women 75 percent of the time, according to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association. This typically begins during a woman’s childbearing years.
They are the fourth leading cause of disability among women in the U.S. and cost about $86 billion per year.
Because of this, they are a special concern for women.
The symptoms of autoimmune diseases can be vague and a diagnosis often requires extensive tests. Many women are labeled “chronic complainers” by their doctors because they appear healthy on the outside.
As research and awareness have increased, these diseases have been recognized and new treatments have been tested. The most important part of treatment is being active in finding the right doctor and lifestyle to maintain your health and in knowing it’s not all in your head.