Until recently, most heart studies used male subjects and then assumed drugs and other treatments were equally effective in women. Over the last 10 years, there has been an increased awareness that heart disease and treatment outcomes are different in women than in men.
Most women are concerned about the development of breast cancer. However, cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women. It kills more women than the next seven causes of death combined. It will strike 1 in 3 women. Over half a million American women die annually from it. Breast cancer strikes 1 in 30 women and kills forty thousand yearly.
Until recently, women have not been educated to suspect heart disease as a cause of their symptoms, which are often different than symptoms in men. Due to this lack of awareness, they delay seeking medical attention. Because women’s symptoms are non-specific, they are more easily overlooked. Women are also often misdiagnosed with flu, acid reflux and anxiety. Because of these delays in diagnosis and treatment, women have poorer outcomes than men. The American Heart Association (AHA) had started the Red Dress program (goredforwomen.org) to increase women’s awareness of heart disease. The AHA has an active campaign during February of each year (American Heart Month) where they try to educate women about modifying their risks and looking for symptoms that could point to a heart problem.Although we can’t change our genetics, men and women can do many things to reduce their risk of heart disease. The classic risk factors for heart attacks and strokes that can be modified are hypertension, high cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, obesity and inactivity.
People who are 30 pounds or more overweight are more likely to develop heart disease even if they have no other risk factors. The risk is greater if the weight is around the stomach instead of around the hips (“apple” versus “pear” shape). Further, inactivity, obesity and diabetes are interrelated. Inactivity can lead to obesity and obesity can lead to diabetes.
The number of people with diabetes is growing at a rate of up to 10% per year. Diabetes increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and heart failure two- to eight-fold.
Education leads to prevention and prevention is the best cure.
Nathan Laufer M.D., FACC, is the founder & medical director of the Heart & Vascular Center of Arizona. He is board certified in internal medicine, cardiology and interventional cardiology and has been in practice since 1984.
Traditional symptoms of heart disease in men:
- Pressure, burning, squeezing in the center of the chest
- Discomfort in one or both arms, shoulders, neck, jaw, stomach or back
- Shortness of breath
- Fatigue, cold sweat, nausea, weakness
Symptoms of heart disease in women:
- Pain in upper back, jaw or neck
- Shortness of breath
- Flu-like symptoms: nausea or vomiting, cold sweats
- Fatigue or weakness
- Feelings of anxiety, loss of appetite, discomfort
