Heart disease is the single leading cause of death for women in westernised countries. Nearly twice as many women in the US die of heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases than from all forms of cancer, including breast cancer.
More frighteningly, the age at which women are experiencing cardiovascular problems is dropping, according to the American Heart Association.
The risk for heart-related death is increasing in young adults ages 35 to 54, and the numbers are even more alarming for younger women. It is the number-one cause of death for both men and women in the United States, yet every year since 1984 more women have died of cardiovascular health problems than men, the Association reports.
"Although there has been a general decline in deaths caused by heart disease, the last decade has seen a steady increase among younger women ages 35 to 44,” reported Dr. Holly Andersen, the director of education and outreach for the Ronald O.Perelman Heart Institute at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
Dr. Andersen was speaking at the start of American Heart Month, when heart health is focused on each February. She said women were not very well educated on the specific symptoms of heart attack, which vary quite markedly from men’s heart attack symptoms.
Women were also not clear on how to protect their heart health, she said.
Symptoms of Heart Attack
It was vital for women to know the warning signs of an attack, Dr. Andersen said, as they might not always experience the typical crushing chest pain that is associated with a heart attack.
Women’s heart attack symptoms can include:
- neck, shoulder and abdominal pain;
- nausea
- vomiting
- fatigue
- shortness of breath together with chest pain
Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Problems
Women have similar cardiac risk factors as men: excess weight/obesity, smoking, high cholesterol levels, diabetes.However, Dr. Andersen said there are several risk factors of particular importance to women.
Smoking greatly increases the risk of heart attack for women under the age of 45. The combination of smoking and birth control pills increases a woman's risk by at least 20-fold.
Experiencing complications during pregnancy – pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes or low-birth-weight babies – can indicate future cardiovascular disease, and such women should aggressively manage all risk factors for heart disease.
Specific Tests to Ask for
She also advised women to ask their doctors about the need for two specific cardiovascular tests – the cardiac stress test and High C-Reactive Protein (CRP) levels.
High C-Reactive Protein (CRP) levels are a marker of inflammation that has been shown to be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular risk. They can be checked with a simple blood test.
The cardiac stress test: Post-menopausal women are encouraged to have this test if they have at least three risk factors for cardiac disease. Such women are at risk of a “silent heart attack,” which can cause no pain, but lead to long-term shortage of blood and oxygen to the heart.
Hints for Healthy Hearts
Another cardiologist, Dr. Karla Kurrelmeyer, from the Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center in Houston, Texas, used the launch of American Heart Month to pass on tips about ways to keep the heart healthy:
- Exercise: “The most important thing I tell my female patients is to stay to as physically fit as possible,” she said. “Every woman should work exercise into her lifestyle. Find something you enjoy doing, and do it regularly and often.”
- Diet: Dr. Kurrelmeyer recommends the Mediterranean Diet, because it is high in fish and fresh vegetables, and low in processed carbohydrates.
- Manage cholesterol: She urges women as young as 20 to have their HDL and LDL levels checked, especially if there’s a family history of heart disease and stroke. Blood pressure and fasting glucose levels should be checked as well.
Start Now to Keep Your Heart Healthy
“Even young women should pay attention to these numbers and be on alert if any are out of range,” Dr. Kurrelmeyer advises. “If these numbers are abnormal, they indicate that you are at risk for developing heart problems in the future.
“They are early warning signals, which if corrected and treated can help prevent the development of heart disease. Often these numbers can be corrected with lifestyle changes, including improving your diet, exercising and losing weight. If these measures fail, they can be easily corrected with medication.”
You may also be interested in reading: Everyday Habits for Healthier Hearts, 30 Minutes to Better Health in 2010 and Eat the DASH Diet for a Healthy Heart.
Sue Cartledge - I'm a science, health, nutrition and lifestyle journalist, fascinated by the way the physical world operates in all its forms, and how ...
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