women are more prone to develop heart disease later in life in the majority of these cases the blood pressure and blood sugar normalizes after delivery so they invariably dont return for regular check ups these women need close follow up at least once in a year after delivery to detect the onset of these risk factors at an early stage shares dr saritha sekhar associate professor interventional cardiologist amrita hospital kochi most of the women in urban areas though aware are multitasking taking care of their career and family alike that they forget to take care of themselves the result will be that we miss the opportunity to diagnose these risk factors like high blood pressure or high blood sugar early enough to avoid complications adds dr saritha symptoms of cardiovascular illness that women should look out forheart disease in women like men can present with chest pain discomfort anywhere from the lower jaw till the navel with or without radiation to the left arm typical chest pain due to blockage in the blood vessel of the heart increases with exertion and is relieved with rest but in women atypical presentations are common the atypical presentations include vague chest discomfort discomfort between the shoulder blades excessive fatigue breathing difficulty etc whenever a woman presents with any of these symptoms to a doctor it is the responsibility of the doctor to assess the various risk factors already mentioned and decide to which extend the patient needs to be evaluated health mistakes that make women prone to heart illnessesshivani kandwal dietician and nutritionist founder of nutrivibes explains the most common mistakesnot focusing on nutrition eating healthy is one of the most important things which you can do for your body to keep it healthy also eating unhealthily can lead to weight gain which can increase the chances of getting a heart disease select foods from every food group including fruits and vegetables whole grains nuts and legumes lean sources of protein at the same time you should avoid foods that are loaded with salt added sugars and trans fatssmokingsmoking does nothing good for your health it only increases risk for heart attack and stroke by accelerating the buildup of cholesterol in the wall and also lowers the hdl which is the good cholesterol so better to quit a habit that doesnt serve you any goodsedentary lifestylelet me clear it up loud women need to do actual exercise not just moving around the house and running errands physical activity is key when it comes to preventing heart disease so make sure that you take out at least 30 minutes to do any type of exercise every day stresswe all have stress in our lives but what we can do is to manage it in a mindful way women need to prioritize their mental health and increase their me time to reduce stress and optimize heart healthnot getting routine health checkups most women dont get to know about their heart condition until and