Well, ladies, this may be the month for valentines, but when it comes to taking care of your heart, it’s not romance that matters – it’s numbers. A woman could be putting her heart at risk if she has any of these numbers:

• Total Cholesterol: above 200 mg/dL
• HDL (“Good”) Cholesterol: below 50 mg/dL
• Triglycerides: above 150 mg/dL
• Blood Pressure: higher than 130/85 mmHg
• Fasting Blood Sugar: above 100 mg/dL
• Body Mass Index (BMI): above 25
• Waist Circumference: 35 inches or greater

Other factors that increase the risk include an inactive lifestyle, cigarette smoking, being post-menopausal and family history – if your father or brother had a heart attack in his 50s or younger, or your mother or sister had one in her 60s or younger.

“Most women are afraid of breast cancer, but heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women,” noted Julia Schumacher, a family nurse practitioner with Aurora Health Care.

Take steps to prevent heart disease

One heart-related myth is that a person cannot do anything to stop heart disease. However, controlling blood pressure and blood sugar, quitting smoking, normalizing cholesterol, getting regular exercise and losing weight do lower one’s risk, Schumacher said.

Helping prevent heart disease in women who are at risk for the disease, or who have signs of pre-diabetes or metabolic syndrome, is the focus of HeartWATCH, a 12-week program offered at the Aurora Women’s Pavilion of Aurora West Allis Medical Center (414-329-5930).

Schumacher is part of the program’s medical team. “The woman meets individually with the team that includes a dietitian, exercise specialist, behavioral specialist and nurse practitioner; the woman is not in a group with other patients,” Schumacher explained.

After that appointment, the medical team develops an individualized plan for the participant that is based on the woman’s risk factors and lifestyle.

HeartWATCH is open to all women in the Milwaukee area; participants do not need a referral from their health care provider, and they do not need to be a patient in the Aurora Health Care system. Schumacher said that a woman’s health insurance typically covers the program if she has risk factors for heart disease.

Throughout the 12 weeks, the woman receives support from Schumacher, who meets with the participant at the beginning, middle and end of the program, and from the program’s registered nurse, who calls each week to talk about the woman’s progress and goals for the upcoming week.

“The phone call is very supportive and positive,” Schumacher said. “The encouragement and accountability are important for losing weight.”

To measure the participant’s results, her blood work, weight, waist and blood pressure numbers from before and after the program are compared. Schumacher said average 12-week results include decreases in waist circumference of 1.25-2 inches, decreases in cholesterol of six-12 percent and weight loss of .5-1 lb. per week.

The goal of the program is to foster permanent heart-healthy changes, so follow-up calls are also made three months and one year after the 12 weeks have ended.

Heart disease is not the same for men and women

Did you know that 42 percent of women who have heart attacks die within one year compared with 24 percent of men? Or that women may have different heart attack symptoms when compared with men?

These are some facts about women’s heart health that are listed on the Columbia St. Mary’s interactive website, www.HeartSecrets.org. The website is one component of the Women’s Heart Secrets program designed to help prevent heart disease. HeartSecerts.org includes tracking tools to record daily diet and exercise, cholesterol levels, blood pressure readings, weight changes and other important numbers.

“Heart Secrets is a medical program geared to women of all ages,” said Joshua Liberman, MD, a cardiologist and the program’s medical director. This program is offered at Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital in Milwaukee and the Grafton Medical Clinic, and a woman does not have to be a patient of a Columbia St. Mary’s physician to participate.

Heart Secrets participants learn some of the “secrets” or lesser-known facts of heart disease during the shared medical appointment (SMA) that brings together six to eight women for an educational presentation given by the Heart Secrets team, which includes a cardiologist, nurse practitioner, dietitian, exercise specialist and behaviorist; each woman also has a private exam with the cardiologist. Because the SMA is a medical consultation, it is usually covered by insurance, Dr. Liberman said.

The specialists assess the woman’s risk for heart disease, talk about new ways to think about diet and exercise and discuss what truly motivates her to care for herself so that the woman can make sustainable heart-smart changes. “We create a personalized action plan so she can really improve her health,” Dr. Liberman said, “including follow-up visits planned according to her goals.”

Also, a woman can join the Heart Secrets online community without attending the shared medical appointment.

Understanding heart disease is a key step in preventing the disease. So show your heart a little love and take time to learn what your heart-health numbers reveal.