Newswise — Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 killer of women in the United States. And while women living in rural communities may not be at higher risk for cardiovascular disease than the rest of the population, they do face particular challenges, says Pamela Stewart Fahs, professor and the Decker Endowed Chair in Rural Nursing at Binghamton University.
According to Fahs, women who live in rural communities were among the last groups in the country to start smoking - and they're among the last to quit. Rural women may also have a harder time accessing health care and messages about healthy habits than suburban or urban women. Fahs has seen a lot of the issues firsthand, having grown up in southeast Kentucky. "I've also seen what socio-cultural aspects of rural living both protect and cause problems for those citizens."
Funded by a grant from the National Institute of Nursing Research, Fahs is currently leading a program to improve heart healthy behaviors among rural women. The study involves women ages 45-65 at moderate to high risk for cardiovascular disease. Fahs offers the following tips to encourage heart healthy behaviors. - Eat in moderation and use portion control. - Build activity into your daily life - park further away from the entrance when you're out shopping or running errands. - Interactive video games can help increase your physical activity level. - Take advantage of the weather to get out and about. Build a snowman with the kids, throw a snow ball or simply shovel some of the white stuff. - Take up mall walking - increase your activity level while window shopping. About Pamela Stewart Fahs: Fahs is a professor and the Decker Endowed Chair in Rural Nursing in the Decker School of Nursing at Binghamton University. Her area of expertise is women's cardiovascular risk factors, and in particular, cardiovascular disease prevention in rural women and stroke education among rural populations.
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