Boosting Women’s Health, Powering Women’s Hearths and Minds

Monette Iturralde-Hamlin | August 7, 2015

They say people die of a broken heart. I must be walking dead then since it’s happened twice in the last three years. Two deaths in a row is more than one heart can handle.

Seriously though, I was intrigued when the topic of the Women’s Business Council’s WomenBizPH Talks last week bannered “Boosting Women’s Health, Powering Women’s Hearts and Minds.” WBC was honored to have two women leaders as guest speakers.

First was prominent cardiologist Dr. Maria Adelaida “Leni” Iboleon-Dy, chair of the Philippine Heart Association Council on Women’s Cardiovascular Health. As Mylene Abiva, president of Felta Multi-Media Inc., introduced Leni’s many accomplishments including being Assistant Medical Director for Medical Education at St. Luke’s Medical Center, Associate Dean for Clinical Sciences, amongst a long list of positions held and honors received, what struck me most was here was a tall, gracious and beautiful woman who has made it to the top in a field dominated by men. What an outstanding testament to womanhood! And instead of just resting on her laurels, she has been leading the campaign to help other women take charge of their health.

Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy. That’s what they call the broken-heart syndrome, Leni shared. Most often seen in post-menopausal women, Takotsubo is brought about by recent severe emotional or physical stress. Emotional stress can be triggered by the death of a loved one, relationship break-ups, arguments with a spouse, or constant anxiety due to financial problems. Physical stress examples include acute asthma, surgery, chemotherapy and stroke.

First studied in Japan, this stress-induced cardiomyopathy, according to Wiki, is characterized by the bulging of the left ventricular apex with a preserved base, making the heart look like a “tako tsubo” or octopus pot. The symptoms are similar to a heart attack, and can be lethal. Leni said this could clear up in four months if treated right.

In her talk entitled “Why hearts need to mend: Yes, broken hearts can kill!,” Leni urged the guests to take care of their health, as heart disease is the #1 leading cause of death in women regardless of race or ethnicity. In fact, she said one of three women die of heart disease, compared to one of 30 who die of cancer. Now those are alarming figures.

Leni is on a passionate quest to wake up women to the reality that cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major public health issue for women, and to get them to take the necessary steps to lead healthy lifestyles as a preventive measure. Because women have a higher tolerance for pain (due to childbirth), women are more difficult to diagnose, and are more likely not to get appropriate treatment following a first heart attack. As Leni said, we tend to “tough it out” more than men. Women also have different symptoms from men, ranging from a “doomed” feeling, or being “suddenly very tired,” vomiting or having indigestion. Now, who of us haven’t felt these before? By this time, I was already beginning to feel hypochondriac.

Leni categorized the risk factors for CVD into what can be changed and what cannot. The bad news is that we can’t do anything about heredity, about being women, or about getting older, especially when we hit menopause. The good news is we can adopt healthier lifestyles by quitting smoking (and staying away from second hand smoke), eating healthier, exercising, controlling our weight gain, and taking the necessary medication for conditions like high blood cholestrol, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

Another wake-up call was the definition of hypertension in adult women. Normal blood pressure should be less than 120 systolic (higher number) and less than 80 diastolic (lower number). So if you have a blood pressure of 120 over 80, you are already pre-hypertensive.

Leni recommended that women do vigorous activity like brisk walking, running or swmming or even dancing for at least 30 minutes, six days a week to get their hearts and lungs in top condition.  I guess I should start doing Zumba soon.   Either that or start running.

As for nutrition, Leni cautioned the group to stay away from vein-clogging cholesterol-rich food and fad diets that promise quick results. This prompted a lot of fond ribbing of fellow WBC member Evelyn Singson, Chairman and President of Philippine Hotelier’s Inc. for serving kare-kare with bagoong for our lunch at Dusit Thani.  A healthy, balanced diet will give the best results, Leni said. And a glass of red wine a day will keep heart attacks away (my line, not hers).

Unfortunately, we cannot stop the clock, and menopause will eventually catch up on all of us. This greatly increases the risk of CVD. So, we need to manage our stress levels if we want to be around to enjoy our children and grandchildren.

Another casualty of ageing is our minds. “My yesterdays are disappearing, my tomorrows are uncertain, so what do I live for? I live for each day. I live in the moment.” Quoting neuroscientist and author of Still Alice, our second speaker Gina Lumauig, Director of Communications of Neeuro Pte. Ltd., Singapore, highlighted the importance of early diagnosis and early intervention to close the treatment gap for dementia.

Dementia, a syndrome caused by different brain illnesses, affects memory, thinking, behavior and the ability to perform everyday functions. There are an estimated 44.4 million people worldwide suffering from dementia. Meanwhile, according to the Dementia Society of the Philippines, an estimated 200,000 Filipinos suffer from dementia, with many more having to live with the problems the illness brings, not just as patients but as caregivers. This I know from experience as my late maiden aunt suffered from dementia in her senior years. Little by little, dementia wormed itself into her brilliant mind destroying her ability to function normally. It was difficult for all of us seeing her deteriorate.

There are things that we can do to keep our brains fit, such as being fit physically (Gina suggested yoga), getting enough sleep (hard note to self: Monette, you need eight hours of sleep!), eating healthy, laughing, and volunteering.

Writing is one of the best ways to sharpen our mind. Gina urged us to write a letter, write a postcard, write a gratitude journal, write to our children and our parents, and to write by hand.

Gina pointed out that her 82-year old parents who have been married 60 years and have so many children, granchildren and great grandchildren, have keen minds because of their healthy and active lifestyle. I was seated beside Gina’s mom during the talk, and she was certainly keen of mind and humor, keeping me entertained so much so that Gina would stop once in awhile and ask her mom to tone down her talking.

Founded by a team of experienced technopreneurs and neuro-scientists, Neeuro Pte. Ltd. where Gina works is about to launch a headworn gadget supported by computer games that challenge memory, attention and more to keep the brain healthy and fit. I asked her to alert me when this happens so I can get a set for myself and start doing mental Zumba.

We all had so much fun while learning how important it is to keep our bodies, hearts and minds healthy. But more than the fun and the learning, it was great bonding with other women at the Women’s Business Council .

Ably led by its chairperson, Ma. Aurora “Boots” Geotina- Garcia, WBC provides a platform for discussing women’s issues in business and finding solutions to challenges women face in the conduct of their business.  WBC is working with the Department of Trade and Industry to organize the Public Private Dialogue on Women and the Economy (PPDWE) for APEC Women and the Economy in September 2015.  And it looks like we’ll be very busy mounting this.

So, is it possible to die of a broken heart?  According to Leni, yes. Can it be cured?  Yes.  Can we delay the onset of dementia According to Gina, yes.  So, ladies, let’s start living healthy.