It is obvious that women are built physically differently from men. One doesn’t need a women’s center for Fort Mill residents, or any others, to tell them this fact. Because of that, women tend to have different health issues than men, regardless of the fact that each may get a variety of the same cancers, develop heart disease, and more, than men do.
Medical research regarding the differences between men’s and women’s health needs have been going on for millennia, but has only in recent history begun to specifically address these matters not only in treatment and care, but in prevention as well.
Here are five common women’s health issues and what to expect if you or someone you know has any of them:
1) Heart Disease – Heart disease is the foremost killer of both men and women, though in women, heart disease accounts for 29% of their deaths. Heart disease death occurs most frequently in women after they reach 60 years of age. Women tend to be under-diagnosed as heart disease was seen as mostly a male malady than a woman’s. Leading causes for heart disease include smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise, high blood pressure, obesity, high blood cholesterol, and diabetes. Heart disease may also be hereditary, especially in African American women.
2) Breast Cancer – While breast cancer does occur in men (TV personality Montel Williams being the most famous one), it is primarily a women’s health issue. Breast cancer women’s surgery in Fort Mill, or anywhere else, is a procedure where a surgeon attempts to remove cysts to determine whether they are cancerous or not. If they are, options such as chemotherapy and radiation treatment, along with special medicine, will be employed to beat the cancer, If unsuccessful, then radical surgery may be necessary.
3) Osteoporosis – When one’s bone density decreases, osteoporosis can occur. If you’ve seen commercials about osteoporosis products then you typically see women in the commercial, that’s because 68% of those who have osteoporosis are women. Causes can be smoking, small bone frame, lack of exercise, improper diet, genetic, anorexia, and certain medications. As well, certain ethnicities are more prone to this disease.
4) Autoimmune Disease – There are more than eighty chronic immune system diseases where the immune system attacks one’s body and tissues. Some are known as Type 1 diabetes, lupus, and multiple sclerosis, and 75% of these occur in women.
5) Depression – The National Institute on Mental Health says that women are twice as more likely to be depressed than men. Depression can be triggered by a number of different events, such as previous history of depression, family history, substance abuse, marital and relationship problems, highly stressful life event such as a death in the family or loss of a friend, and eating disorders, to name a few.
Other women’s health issues include pregnancy and birth matters. A maternity center for Fort Mill moms, or moms anywhere else, will include information on these and other health related matters that are particularly important to women.