Men and women: Your heart hardens
In your 50s, the heart muscle begins to stiffen up. When your heart hardens, it has trouble in pumping blood efficiently throughout your body, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The medical term for the phenomenon is diastolic dysfunction: The muscle isn’t able to relax after each beat, this way increasing the risk of having a heart disease.
For women, hormonal changes can make things even worse: “When estrogen levels decline, women often develop stiffening of the heart muscle,” says integrative cardiologist Regina Druz, MD, FAC, IFMCP, of the Integrative Cardiology Center of Long Island.
If you happen to experience some of the well known symptoms of heart disease (shortness of breath, fatigue, swelling in the legs, ankles, and feet, rapid heartbeat, and coughing up pink and foamy mucus), seek immediate medical help.
