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J anis Morrissey is Director of Health Promotion with the Irish Heart Foundation, and their Her Heart Matters campaign. A registered dietician, she lives in Dublin with her family
Janis Morrissey, Head of Health Promotion at the Irish Heart Foundation, left, launching the Her Heart Matters Campaign with, from left, campaign ambassador Glenda Gilson, Sarah O’Brien of the HSE and Frances Deasy of Marks and Spencer Ireland. Photo: Kieran Harnett
Janis Morrissey, who is Director of Health Promotion for the Irish Heart Foundation.
The Irish Heart Foundation teamed up with the all-female art collective – the Minaw Collective to create a number of vibrant heart-inspired murals across Marks & Spencer windows in Dublin and Cork to celebrate World Heart Day in September. Photo: Arthur Carron
If you picture in your head someone having a heart attack or a stroke, or if you think about what we see on TV and film, it always tends to be a man. We don’t tend to picture a woman having a heart attack or a stroke, but, in fact, one in four women die from heart disease and stroke.
I t’s an incredible statistic and anyone who has heard it, in the course of the Her Health Matters campaign, has been stunned.
Women are six times more likely to die from heart disease and stroke than they are from breast cancer. That’s not looking to pitch one disease against another, but as women, we’re so conscious of breast health and checking, and heart disease is just not on the radar at all.
With this campaign, we want to put it on women’s radars, particularly women in their 40s and 50s. In that perimenopause and menopause time, the oestrogen starts dropping and your risk of heart disease and stroke increases.
As we’re well aware, oestrogen is a female hormone that regulates periods. It also has a really important job in terms of protecting women’s hearts and blood vessels.
Janis Morrissey, who is Director of Health Promotion for the Irish Heart Foundation.
Once we start entering menopause, oestrogen levels start dropping and this makes blood vessels less flexible, so the blood flow isn’t as smooth and cholesterol starts building up on the inside of the blood vessels as well. So there’s a direct knock-on effect in terms of midlife and risk of heart disease and stroke.
I suppose the call to action of the campaign is for women to take stock of their health in their 40s and 50s. We’re very conscious that these years are often so busy with juggling the responsibilities of children, ageing parents, professional ambitions and financial concerns. We’ve created supportive resources like our well-being journal, which helps with taking stock and thinking about small, sustainable changes that can be made. It helps with mapping habits and goals, and understanding barriers to successes.
The good news is that 80pc of premature heart disease and stroke is preventable through lifestyle changes. There’s a huge amount that we can do to reduce our risk by how we live our lives.
The key thing is to have a heart-health check. Check your blood pressure at the GP or a community pharmacy. Often there will be no obvious signs of high blood pressure — that’s why it’s called a silent killer.
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Nutrition-wise, there is good evidence that a Mediterranean-style diet can help to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, and actually help manage some of the menopause symptoms as well.
The Irish Heart Foundation teamed up with the all-female art collective – the Minaw Collective to create a number of vibrant heart-inspired murals across Marks & Spencer windows in Dublin and Cork to celebrate World Heart Day in September. Photo: Arthur Carron
In terms of physical activity, it’s about trying to build it into daily life. The gym isn’t for everybody, but you can incorporate a brisk daily walk and 30 minutes a day can be broken into several sessions. So long as your heart’s pumping, you’re getting the benefits.
Taking care of mental health is also key, and that comes out of what we’ve said about women being so busy and taking the view that the self-care piece is kind of a waste of time. But it can just be something simple like getting fresh air, or reading a book.
Again, when we think about a heart attack, we imagine a man grabbing his arm or chest. For women, an attack often doesn’t present like that. It can seem like indigestion or even just tiredness. They are not symptoms that create the same sense of urgency, and women have a tendency to think, “Ah, it will be grand”.
There was one case study, as part of our campaign, of a woman driving herself to hospital when she was having a heart attack. It sounds like a joke, but at the same time, it comes as no surprise. We’re just not as aware of the signs, and we have to make time to take stock.
The Irish Heart Foundation website, irishheart.ie, is a rich resource of information on prevention of disease, lifestyle support and specific advice for women. On the site, you can download the Her Heart Matters journal, for practical steps to cardiac health
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