In today’s fast paced life, taking care of your health should be your primary concern. With hectic work schedules, deadlines to meet, office politics to handle and most important of all, just getting the work done properly can be very stressful. Stress is the number one killer, and stress management is key, to maintain a healthy outlook and lifestyle for that matter.

Despite taking all the necessary steps and precautions, womens health is normally affected by these five major health concerns:

Heart disease: Feeling out of breath, not being able to perform physical activities, even when walking up a short flight of stairs feels like a burden, these are indicators of the first signs of heart trouble. Heart disease is considered the number one killer affecting womens health, with staggering statistics of 29% deaths caused due to various heart-related ailments. Symptoms in women tend to be underdiagnosed which is quite alarming.

Breast cancer: Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer affecting women’s health, being one of the leading cause of premature deaths in women. Factors which contribute to the developing signs include obesity, increasing age, genetic mutations, family history of breast cancer among others.

Osteoporosis: Bone health is equally important and should be taken care of since Osteoporosis affects more than 44 million people in the country, 68% percent being women. The condition is preventable since habits developed in your childhood and adolescence leads to osteoporosis. Complete bone mass and density is fully developed by the age of thirty.

Depression: Depression affects a majority of women, mostly caused due to external factors. However, hormonal changes have been linked to the causes of developing depression, which can be more dominant after pregnancy or even menopause. A family history of depression, history of heart problems, chronic illnesses, marital problems, substance abuse, medications for high blood pressure or seizures and stress are among the common triggers. Even certain vitamin deficiencies or a thyroid condition can trigger depression whih is harmful for womens health.

Immune system disorders: The immune system is the most crucial of all our bodily functions. The main function is to ensure women’s health to ward off diseases and commonly associated infections. However, there is a group of auto immune disorders which forces the immune system itself to attack the body to alter and destroy the tissues. Certain genetic, hormonal and even environmental factors are responsible for causing the body’s system to turn against itself, paving the way to chronic illnesses in this category.