Lowering Risk For Heart Disease—The Leading Cause Of Death For American Females—Can Start With A Heartfelt Moment (NAPSA}—Until last year, actress Caitlin Van Zandt of “Guiding Light” and “The Sopranos”wasoneof the 385 million obese women in the United States, causing her to also be one of the 41 million women in this country living with orat risk of heart disease. Though she wasonly 22 years old, Caitlin wasat risk of developing heart disease because she was significantly overweight and hadhigh cholesterol. Like many other women, Caitlin was surprised to learn just how muchher weight could negatively impact her health. Arecent survey of approximately 1,000 womenrevealed that 97 percent of women understand being overweightis a significant risk factor for heart disease, yet 55 percent are overweight. @ So, while women understand their risk of heart disease, many are not taking action to live heart healthy through losing weight. This may be because womendonot adequately fear heart disease, which kills more women each yearin the United States than any otherdisease. In fact, the survey found that nearly three times as many women fear getting canceras fear developing heart disease. Ofthe risk factors for heart disease, being significantly overweight has been shown to put a person at higherrisk of early heart attack than any otherrisk factor. In fact, overweight people experience heart attacks a decade sooner than “normal”weight people. Once Caitlin understood how her weight put her at risk for heart disease, she also feared for her mother, Barbara. Barbara was more than 100 poundsoverweight, and she was on medication for high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Scared for each other’s health, Caitlin and Barbara shared a heartfelt moment and madethedecision to reduce their heart disease risk by losing weight. During the past year, Caitlin has lost 92 pounds andher cholesterol levels do not require medication, a treatment her physician was considering before she lost the weight. Similarly, Barbara has lost 75 A Heartfelt Moment: Actress Caitlin Van Zandt and her mother Barbara both lost considerable weight in an effort to reduce heart disease risk. poundsand hercholesterol and blood pressure are undercontrol. An astonishing 80 percent of women ages 40 to 60 have one or morerisk factors for heart disease, including being overweight or obese. This is part of the reason why Caitlin and Barbaraare sharingtheir stories as part of the Heartfelt Moments Obesity Health Education Campaign, which aims to educate overweight women regarding their increased risk of heart disease and the importance of reducing this risk through effective weight loss. The campaign is sponsored by Allergan,Inc., developers of the LAP-BAND AP Adjustable Gastric Banding System, andis initiated in partnership with WomenHeart, a leading nonprofit national organization dedicated to advancing women’s heart health. “It is imperative that women knowtherisk factors for heart disease,” said Lisa M. Tate, Chief Executive Officer of WomenHeart. “However, awareness regarding risk factors isn’t enough; women need to act now to managetheir heart disease risk. And since weight man- agementis a key way to reduce heart diseaserisk, significantly overweight women should speak with a doctor about effective weight-loss treatmentoptions.” Achieving long-term weight loss can be daunting, particularly for those who are 100 pounds or more overweight. The new survey showed that 54 percent of obese women surveyed noted diet and exercise as an effective weight-loss method for those 100 pounds overweight. However, in reality, studies have found that for these people, diet and exercise alone fail 95 percentof the time, and people regain as muchas two-thirds of the weight within one year and almostall of it within five years. After years of unsuccessful diet andexercise programs, Caitlin and Barbaralost weight with the assistance of the LAP-BAND AP System procedure, which is less invasive than gastric bypass. But, their weight-loss journey began with a heartfelt moment when they both acknowledged the effect weight was having on their heart health. Now, they want others to do the same. While the survey found that four out of 10 women do not discuss heart disease risk with their loved ones, 79 percent of obese women said they would react positively if a friend or family member spoke to them about their weight. “T encourage you to look at the women in yourlife and look at yourself. If any of you are significantly overweight, heart disease should be a major health concern. Nowis the time to act—have that heartfelt moment and discuss weight as a risk factor for heart disease and what you can do to get your weight under control,” said Caitlin. “I want women who are 100 pounds or more overweight to knowthat there are effective weight-loss treatment options, beyond just diet and exercise, and with the right tools and plan, and support of loved ones, you can take the weightoff andlive heart healthy.” The Heartfelt Moments Obesity Health Education Campaign provides resources and tools on www.HeartfeltMoments.org.
