TBN, February 5, 2004 - Only 8% of American women consider heart disease their greatest health risk, but nearly half will die from it. Cardiovascular disease is the #1 cause of death in American women, killing more than the next seven causes put together. This lack of awareness cuts both ways. Women historically have been underrepresented in heart-related clinical trials.
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What can a woman do to reduce her risk of heart disease?
See a doctor regularly and talk about heart risks
Do not smoke
Maintain a healthy weight
Manage diabetes, lower high blood pressure, and reduce high cholesterol with the help of your doctor
Eat at least five servings of fruit and vegetables every day
Get regular physical activity- at least 30 minutes a day 4 to 5 days/ week
Be informed by using the various, medically-accredited high quality resources available online.
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Research on middle-aged men is most often used to establish accepted medical practice. However women actually experience heart disease quite differently from men:Women are more likely to die within one year of a heart attack.
Women are less likely to survive coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.
Women are more likely to experience complications from angioplasty.
Women are more likely to have life-threatening arrhythmias. A new study, conducted by researchers at the Cardiac Centers of Louisiana, found further differences. They analyzed 2,708 heart failure patients, including 593 women. The female enrollment, while only 22% of the study group, representation a larger proportion of women than usual for cardiac-related clinical trials. Their findings were published in the Dec. 17 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
On the negative side:
Coronary artery disease (“hardening of the arteries”) increased the risk of death by 2.5 times in women, but only 1.5 times in men.
Women had faster heart rates and a higher prevalence of a type of electrical abnormality of the heart called left bundle branch block.
On the positive side:
For every 1% increase in heart-pumping function, the female death rate fell by 4%. In men, the same 1% increase in heart function decreased the death rate by only 1%.
Women with heart failure had better outcomes than men, if their heart failure was not caused by heart attack."We've just assumed that women will respond the same as men do, and we took it as a fact that if men responded, then women would have the same response. I think that's a mistake and, to me, that's the main message from this study: that we should look at women differently than men," researcher Dr. Jalal K. Ghali, of the Cardiac Centers of Louisiana, stated in response to the findings.
Hormones play some role in gender-related differences in heart disease. Estrogen increases the production of "good" cholesterol, HDL (high density lipoprotein). Estrogen decreases with age, and therefore levels of good cholesterol decrease in women. Since women live one third of their lives after menopause, this is a crucial issue. Women’s smaller heart size, and a more advanced age of diagnosis relative to men may also contribute to the differences. In addition, women’s hearts differ electrically from men’s. The signals that tell the ventricles (the main pumping chambers in the bottom of the heart) to contract or relax take longer to take effect.
Because it is such a serious risk, women should know the risk factors and symptoms of heart disease. Older women, African-Americans, Hispanics, and women with a family history of the disease are at high risk. Smoking doubles the risk of cardiovascular disease, and second hand smoke increases it as well. Physical inactivity increases risk by 50 percent. Being 30 pounds or more overweight increases risk as well, even if no other risk factors are involved. Fat around the stomach is especially dangerous. Diabetes increases risk of heart disease 3-7 fold, and the increase is more pronounced in women than men.
Early signs of heart disease may include chest pain, shortness of breath, or a feeling of heaviness, tightness or pain behind the breastbone. Women are more likely than men to have painless or diffuse pain progressions in heart disease, so vigilance is important.
Some people have heart attacks without having any of these warning signs, however. For women, signs of a heart attack can be vague and easily overlooked. It’s important for women to pay close attention to these warnings, however. According to one highly-regarded research program, the Framingham Heart Study, mortality after a heart attack is significantly higher for women.
These heart attack warning signs include:
Discomfort in the chest, jaw, neck, back, shoulder or arm
Shortness of breath
Nausea
SweatingAny woman experiencing these symptoms should seek prompt medical attention at a hospital. The faster, the better. In the event of a heart attack, the more prompt the medical treatment, the better the outcome.
With increased awareness, and appropriate action, women can dramatically reduce their risk from heart disease. Thus they can take one step towards defeating their deadliest foe.
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