E. S. Hamilton
VFW Post 9876

Pattaya City, Thailand

 
Surgeon's Corner

Why Women Are Not Small Men Heart-Wise
 

Why Women Are Not Small Men Heart-Wise

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, men and women are different.

(Women are from Mars and Men are from Venus?) This is true in many respects when it comes to medical issues. One area where that is proving to be so is with the symptoms they exhibit when having a HEART ATTACK.

For both men and women, the factors that increase one’s risk for having a heart attack are almost identical. They can be divided into modifiable and non-modifiable. Genetics and family history is a major risk factor, but one we can only take into account. We can’t change this risk factor yet.

Smoking is the single biggest modifiable risk factor for heart disease in both men and women. Smoking affects the artery lining and encourages plaque formation.

Next on the list are diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), and hyperlipidemia (high lipid or fat levels in the bloodsteam). High blood pressure is often associated with smoking and excess weight.

Down further on the list is stress. We don’t fully understand how stress affects the heart, but we believe it can make plaque in arteries unstable and likely to rupture, causing blood clot formation and blockage. There’s good stress and bad stress and everyone handles stress differently. Major life changes – loss of a loved one, a stressful job or loss of a job, feeling overwhelmed in many areas of your life – can make for bad stress.

It is not widely known that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of both men and women. Most women are more fearful of cancer, especially breast cancer. The reality is statistically, heart disease claims more lives than all types of cancer combined. Six times as many women die from heart disease as from breast cancer. In the United States, one in three women will eventually die from heart disease. Those statistics should be a wake-up call that heart disease is the biggest threat to women’s health.

HEART ATTACK IN WOMEN: According to the National Institutes of Health heart disease is the No. 1 killer of both women and men. The classic sign of a heart attack is a searing pain in the chest, usually lasting several minutes. But that's not necessarily the symptom felt by women, who make up 50% of heart attack victims. They are more likely to experience:

An indigestion type feeling in the upper abdomen;

Shoulder or neck discomfort, or tightness throughout this area;

Tightness or heaviness in the right or left arm and shoulder area (often mistaken as a joint problem);

Nausea;

Profound fatigue and decreasing exercise tolerance. Elderly women and diabetics, both men and women, need to pay particular attention to this symptom.

In fact, many aspects of heart disease are different for women than men -- its onset, its progression, and its symptoms. Women are less likely than men to believe they're having a heart attack and more likely to delay seeking emergency treatment. One big reason may be because most don't experience that classic chest pain. Researchers polled 515 women who'd recently had a heart attack regarding their symptoms, and found that fewer than 30% complained of chest discomfort. The most frequent acute symptoms were shortness of breath 58%, weakness 55%, and fatigue 43%. Women also complained of sleep disturbances, back pain, indigestion and anxiety. Women tend to be about 10 years older than men when they have a heart attack. The typical male profile involves a 50-year-old man with devastating chest pain. But for women, menopause is the time when they enter their danger zone. That is when they have a much greater risk of high blood pressure and a much greater risk of high bad cholesterol. Doctors believe this could be due to the falling estrogen and progesterone levels that women experience during menopause. Studies have shown that hormone-replacement therapy actually increases heart attack risk for women rather than lowering it. Women tend to exhibit more of the risk factors for heart disease than men. These factors include diabetes, smoking, lack of exercise, and obesity. Two-thirds of women who have their first heart attack die suddenly. They have complications because they come into the health-care system late. Women as a whole tend to take care of everyone but themselves.

To head off heart disease, post-menopausal women should undergo regular blood pressure and cholesterol checks with greater frequency than men do. For example, a man at risk of a heart attack should have his blood pressure checked once a year. But because women's heart attack risk increases so dramatically following menopause, it is recommended they have their blood pressure tested at least twice a year and their cholesterol tested at least once a year. Women also should pay attention to how they feel when exerting themselves. When their situation gets more serious, they will get symptoms with less and less exertion, or even at rest. Six weeks before they have an actual heart attack, they will have exertion symptoms. Woman can reduce the likelihood of a heart attack by cutting back on smoking and drinking and by watching their diet. Regular aerobic exercise and a high-fiber, low-fat diet can be the two best ways for them to head off an attack. Women can't start taking care of themselves soon enough. The earliest buildup of plaque can be seen in a woman's late teens and 20s. It's important they adapt to a healthy lifestyle when they are young but it is never too late to start. To learn more about women and heart health, visit

www.irmc.org/body.cfm?id=412.

[Source: Express Scripts e-Bulletin 6 Apr 06 ++]