The heart disease is considered as a man’s problem, how many of us know that the number one killer in a woman is heart disease too. The women tend to have coronary artery disease 10 years later than men, but it is more severe than men. Many women who have a heart attack do not know it. Here Dr Bipeenchandra Bhamre, Cardio-Thoracic Surgeon, Sir H N Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre, talks about women and their heart health.
1. In the 1st year after a heart attack, women are more than 50% more likely to die than men are. In the first 6 years after a heart attack, women are almost twice likely to have a second heart attack. Because the life expectancy in India for a woman is 70 years a woman can expect to live a large part of their life after 50 years with the risk of heart disease almost similar to men.
2. Studies have shown that almost 1 in 4 women have some form of identified heart disease. In one study in the UK it was found that women are diagnosed little late than men counterparts when it comes to heart disease. They tend to ignore their symptoms as a family always comes first for them. The coronary microvascular disease is common in woman. The so-called broken heart syndrome or takotsubo cardiomyopathy is common in woman. This is stress-induced cardiomyopathy in which the heart muscle at apex dilates.
3. Women’s symptoms may occur more often when women are resting, or even when they’re asleep. Women tend to show up in emergency rooms after heart damage has already occurred because their symptoms are not those usually associated with a heart attack and because women may downplay their symptoms. The symptoms can be more subtle than the obvious crushing chest pain often associated with heart attacks. Women may describe chest pain as pressure or tightness. This may be because women tend to have blockages not only in their main arteries but also in the smaller arteries that supply blood to the heart — a condition called small vessel heart disease or coronary microvascular disease.
4. Mental stress also may trigger heart attack symptoms in women. If you experience these symptoms or think you’re having a heart attack, call for emergency medical help immediately. Don’t drive yourself to the emergency room unless you have no other options.
5. Many studies have shown that after menopause, women experience an increased risk of heart disease. Researchers have connected this pattern to decreasing levels of female hormone estrogen during menopause – a process that begins around age 45 to 50. Estrogen is associated with higher levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL or good cholesterol) and lower levels of low-density lipoprotein ( LDL or bad cholesterol) withdrawal of the natural estrogen that occurs in menopause leads to lower “good cholesterol and higher ” bad cholesterol” thus increasing risks of heart disease.
6. Modifiable risk factors are almost the same for men and women, smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, lack of physical activity, obesity, use of oral contraceptive pills, stress and depression. Consult the doctor and control the risks factors by exercise, diet and or medicines. One challenge is that women heart disease symptoms are different than men. Fortunately, woman can take steps to understand these symptoms and begin to reduce their risk for heart disease.