Mother's Day is the peak day of the year for long distance phone calls, the second-largest gift-giving holiday and the busiest day of the year for many restaurants, according to surveys. This year, let all the women in your life know much you care by asking about their heart health and what they are doing to take care of themselves.
  
Women often are caregivers for their spouses, children and parents and forget to focus on their own health, but research shows that when women take care of themselves, the health of their family improves. We need to remind our mothers, grandmothers, daughters, sisters, aunts and girlfriends about the steps they can take to reduce their risks of cardiovascular disease.

Heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases are devastating to women. Coronary heart disease, which causes heart attack, is the leading cause of death for American women. Nearly twice as many women in the United States die of heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases as from all forms of cancer, including breast cancer.
  
The American Heart Association has identified several factors that increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. The more risk factors a woman has, the greater her risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
  
Some of the risk factors you cannot control are:
 
Increasing age - As women grow older, their risk of heart disease and stroke begins to rise and continues rising with age.
 
Gender - Each year about 60,000 more women than men have strokes, and about 60 percent of total stroke deaths occur in women.
 
Family history - Both women and men are more likely to develop heart disease or stroke if their close blood relatives have had them.
 
Previous heart attack or stroke - Forty-three percent of women age 40 and older who survive a first heart attack will have another heart attack or fatal coronary heart disease within five years, and 22 percent who survive a first stroke will have another within five years.
 
However, there are risk factors that can be controlled by focusing on lifestyle habits and making good choices:
 
Stop smoking - Smoking is a major cause of cardiovascular disease among women and increases the risk for stroke. Constant exposure to secondhand smoke also increases the risk, even for nonsmokers.
 
Treat high blood pressure - High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart attack and the most important risk factor for stroke. Women have an increased risk of developing high blood pressure if they are obese, have a family history of high blood pressure or have reached menopause.
 
Increase physical activity - Various studies have shown that lack of physical activity is a risk factor for heart disease and indirectly increases the risk of stroke. Overall, they found that heart disease is almost twice as likely to develop in inactive people than in those who are more active. The American Heart Association recommends at least 30 minutes of physical activity on most or all days of the week.  
 
Lose weight - Women who are significantly overweight are at higher risk for health problems, including high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, high triglycerides, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
 
Prevent or accurately treat diabetes - Adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates that are two to four times those of adults without diabetes. People with diabetes often have high blood pressure and high cholesterol and are overweight, increasing their risk even more. 
 
Other factors that can contribute to the risk of heart disease include excess alcohol drinking and unhealthy responses to stress.
  
When women take even the simplest steps to improve their health, the results can be significant and everyone can benefit. Remind the women you love that taking care of themselves is essential to living longer, healthier and happier lives.

By Barbara E. Riley is the Director, Ohio Department of Aging

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