Indian women have always ignored the severity of heart diseases. Did you know that one in 31 women die of breast cancer, but one in three women die because of heart disease. The more worrisome fact is that more than 50% present heart diseases are detected only after sudden cardiac death. Unlike men, heart disease in women is detected ten years later usually, after it peaks after menopause, says our expert Dr Gunjan Kapoor, Director Interventional Cardiology, Jaypee Hospital, Noida.
Why are Indians more prone to heart disease?
Asian Indians have 50% to 400% higher incidence of coronary artery disease (CAD) as compared to people of other ethnic origins. India is in the middle of an epidemic of coronary artery disease, and urban Indians are four times at high risk of of coronary artery disease as compared to Americans. In last thirty years, the CAD rates halved in the West whereas they doubled in India and there are no signs of them reducing yet.
The average age of first heart attack has decreased by 20 years in India. About half of all heart attacks in Indians occur under the age of 50 years and one-fourth under the age of forty years. This premature CAD in Indians is due to genetic susceptibility. About one-third of Indians have high levels of Lipoprotein (a), a result of lifestyle factors such as sedentary life, stress and changes in diet.
How women are different from men
Scientific studies have shown that females may often have symptoms of angina but less obstruction in the coronary arteries, and this is why it's hard to detect blocked arteries in angiography. Also, almost forty percent of women may not have chest pain during a heart attack and may more commonly have breathlessness and extreme weakness. Moreover, the pain during a heart attack may be in back or shoulders and not in the arm as commonly seen. Here are symptoms of heart attacks in women you should know!
If you are diabetic, the risk of heart attack is three times more than women with no medical condition. If a woman suffers from high blood pressure during pregnancy or PCOS (polycystic ovary disease), it increases her chances of getting a heart attack. Women smokers have six times the risk of heart attack compared to three times in men. Low levels of good cholesterol (Low HDL) and high levels of triglycerides rather than high levels of bad cholesterol are more predictive of heart disease in women. Here are few unusual risk factors of heart diseases in women.
How to reduce the risk of heart disease?
The only way to lower the risk of heart disease in women is to follow a four step rule -- eat right, exercise regularly, quit smoking (if you smoke) and maintain a healthy weight. By following this, you can lower the risk of heart disease by almost 82 percent. Read more on simple tips to prevent heart disease.
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