SCAN Celebrates American Heart Month with Women’s Heart Healthy Tea Event

On Wednesday, February 7, SCAN (Senior Citizens Activities Network), hosted a Women’s Heart Healthy Tea presented by Hackensack Meridian Health with Dr. Monica Bais as keynote speaker.

Dr. Bais shared the information that heart disease is the number one killer of women. One in three women have heart disease, so it is imperative that women know all the information about how to take care of themselves. Dr. Bais stressed the importance of knowing the risk factors for heart disease, and self-care to prevent it.

Estrogen, which protects the heart, decreases in women as they age, and the chances of heart disease can increase. She discussed the need to have a healthy diet (including what and how much to eat), the types and amounts of exercise a woman needs, knowing about cholesterol levels, being aware of the risks of diabetes, and knowing and understanding blood pressure readings. She also talked about symptoms that women exhibit when having a cardiac episode, and that they present differently than those in men.

Dr. Bais discussed the benefits of tea in lowering blood pressure, and an ingredient that might be counterproductive to lowering blood pressure in some teas. There was a question-and-answer period, and lovely tea and healthy snacks were served after her presentation. Hackensack Meridian Hospital nurses were onsite and provided blood pressure screenings. For more information about SCAN, please visit them at www.scannj.org