How women's risks are different than men's
Women's heart disease risks
Women are susceptible to most of the same risk factors as men, namely high blood pressure, damage from smoking, high cholesterol, diabetes and a family history of heart disease.
However, women with diabetes are significantly more likely to develop heart disease than others, says Abramson. Again, no one knows why. Pregnancy can also induce certain conditions that increase women’s risk for heart disease down the road, such as pre-eclampsia (hypertension in pregnancy), which can double our risk of having a heart attack in the future.
What you can do
But women can reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke by as much as 80 per cent by making simple lifestyle changes. “Women just haven’t made the connection that cardiovascular disease is a women’s disease, and that there is something you can do if you start early enough,” says Jennifer Price, an advanced practice nurse specializing in cardiology at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto.
Also, women should not deceive themselves into thinking estrogen is a free pass to an unhealthy lifestyle until menopause strikes, adds Bobbe Wood, president and CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundations in B.C. and the Yukon. “All of the choices we make throughout our lives contribute to a plus or minus sign. Either you increase your risk or you decrease your risk of heart disease or stroke,” says Wood. “And it’s never too early to start.”
More subtle symptoms
According to Price, “what makes women harder to diagnose is that their symptoms may not be as clearcut as men’s.” Indeed, science has yet to explain why 25 per cent of women won’t have any symptoms, and half of the women who have heart attack symptoms will have symptoms similar to men’s.
The common signs include crushing chest pain below the breast bone, shortness of breath and sweating. However, the other half of women who experience symptoms, such as Marlies, will complain of back pain, neck pain and fatigue, which may last for a few days, or just a few hours. Wood explains that women tend to experience vague symptoms, such as discomfort or anxiety. “Women at risk for heart disease shouldn’t hesitate to act on any symptom, no matter how minor it may seem,” says Wood.
An underlying biological difference in heart disease could explain why, in some cases, it is harder to diagnose and treat in women. For example, research sponsored by the United States National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute has shown that doctors are more likely to look for major blockages in angiograms, whereas in many women there are two areas of dysfunction – one in the cells that line the coronary arteries, and another in the tiny vessels that branch within the heart – that may go undetected.
This female-specific vascular disorder was discovered by newer tests, such as ultrasounds of the blood vessels. The hope is that new screening capabilities and treatments will soon be more available to catch this heart condition unique to women.
