Cardiology - Heart Hero

#1 Killer Among Women

Myth-Busting: Heart Attacks Only Happen to Men
According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease kills five times as many women as does breast cancer. Of the 1.5 million Americans afflicted with coronary artery disease, nearly half of these victims die each year. Of those deaths, more than 50% are women.

Women under age 50 may be less likely to have a heart attack than men, but when they do, they are more likely to die from it. Older women are at greater risk as well. A recent American Heart Association medical statement indicated that due to an aging population, the absolute number of deaths among women aged 50+ years from cardiovascular disease is increasing to epidemic proportion.

Women May Exhibit Special Symptoms

Women and men both share symptoms, such as a squeezing feeling or pain in the center of the chest, shooting pain or numbness in the left arm, and sweating and nausea. More often than men, women exhibit less common warning signs:

• Pain in the back, neck or other body areas
• Exhaustion and shortness of breath
• Stomach discomfort or indigestion
• Feelings of anxiety
• Fast heartbeat, low blood pressure

Standard exercise stress tests are more likely to be inaccurate in women than men. Physicians are now ordering various tests, which may indicate early signs of heart disease.

Special Risk Factors for Women

Men and women equally share such risk factors as high blood pressure, diabetes, a fatty diet, high levels of "bad" or LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, and a family history of heart disease. Risk factors specific to women include:

• Smoking combined with the use of birth control pills can be deadly due to the risk of blood clots.
• Menopause decreases the female hormone estrogen, which seems to have a protective effect by keeping cholesterol levels down.