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| Diabetes & the Female Heart (Brandy) |
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February 28, 2010 Greetings Sisters! There’s so, so much going on in the world of women with diabetes. It is an exciting place to be right now! First of all, I must tell you that the Weekend for Women Conference in Raleigh, NC is FULL. Who would have thought that it would fill up THAT FAST?!?!?! I was optimistic, but filling up the registration in 8 weeks surpassed my expectations! The good news is that having such a positive response lays the groundwork (and illustrates the need) for more Weekend for Women Conferences to take place so that DiabetesSisters can serve more women with diabetes! If you would like to be put on a waitlist (in case we are able to open more spots) or if you would like to be updated when registration for our next conference is open, please send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with “Waitlist/Updates on Conference” in the subject line. You can also register for our monthly newsletter on the DiabetesSisters homepage (www.diabetessisters) to receive monthly updates on the conference series. Since February is American Heart Month, I felt it was important to bring an article to your attention that illustrates one of the the gender differences that exists in heart disease (Diabetes Care, October 2009): http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/32/10/1851.full I have always advocated for more research on women with diabetes to uncover the gender-specific health issues related to diabetes, so I was delighted to see this study. Undoubtedly, differences to exist, but very little time, attention, or money have been devoted to the issue. Amazingly, the study above DID look at the gender differences related to atrial fibrillation. During atrial fibrillation, the heart's two upper chambers (the atria) beat chaotically and irregularly — out of coordination with the two lower chambers (the ventricles) of the heart. Atrial fibrillation is an irregular and often rapid heart rate that commonly causes poor blood flow to the body and symptoms of heart palpitations, shortness of breath and weakness (Mayo Clinic website). The danger in artial fibrillation is that it can lead to a stroke. After tracking 35,000 people with diabetes for an average of seven years, researchers found that women have a 26 percent increased risk for atrial fibrillation. This association doesn’t exist in men with diabetes. The authors can’t explain the gender gap, but I guess we can just take it one step at a time and first be happy that gender-specific research is being conducted to bring these issues to our attention. The symptoms for atrial fibrillation are the same in men and women. Your risk for atrial fibrillation increases with age and is most often seen in people age 65 and over. Although 65 may seem far away to some of us, it is powerful to have this knowledge now so that we can be aware of the symptoms and potentially avoid a stroke later in life.Some common symptoms of atrial fibrillation are: · Irregular heartbeat, including palpitations, racing pulse, or a feeling of “flopping” in your chest · Weakness · Decreased blood pressure · Confusion · Lightheadedness · Shortness of breath · Chest pain
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