Getting to the Heart of Heart Attacks in Women
Understanding the Risks, Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment of Heart Attacks in Women
Coronary artery disease (CAD), the most prevalent kind of cardiac disease that can cause heart attacks. 1 During a heart attack, the blood and oxygen supply to the heart muscle is compromised in one way or another, primarily as a result of cholesterol plaque buildup in the blood vessels. Heart attacks are responsible for one in three deaths of women each year; on average, one woman dies from one every minute.
Although blood clots and plaque in the heart arteries can restrict blood flow and cause heart attacks in both men and women, the ways in which these clots originate are different. Women are more likely to experience plaque erosion, in which tiny plaque fragments break off and become visible. As a result, smaller clots form, which may not immediately cause a complete blockage (also known as "occlusion"). (This explains why women's symptoms are subtler than men's.) In addition, women typically experience heart attacks roughly 10 years later than men do due to their greater vulnerability and propensity for various health issues.
One of the reasons women frequently get heart attacks later than men is the decrease in estrogen's that comes with menopause. Men and women have various causes for heart attacks, and both sexes have different warning signs that cause patients to seek emergency medical care. Women who are not aware of these disparities may have erroneous or delayed diagnosis and treatment.
Symptoms of Heart Attack in Women
Symptoms of a heart attack in women often include tightness, heaviness, or fullness in the chest, as well as less often occurring sweating. Women commonly attribute these symptoms to ageing, dyspepsia, muscle aches, and other, less severe ailments. Shortness of breath, pain in the arms, back, or jaw, nausea, a racing heart, dizziness, or loss of appetite are symptoms that women are more likely to mention. This female presentation has been linked to a delay in diagnosis and the application of life-saving treatment methods.
Heart Disease Risk Factors: How Do Men and Women Differ?
Traditional heart disease risk factors have varied effects on males and women.
Estrogen
Oestrogen aids women in maintaining normal blood pressure before menopause. However, after menopause, women are more likely than men to have high blood pressure because only 44% of women and 51% of men are able to control their blood pressure, respectively.
Cholesterol
High cholesterol levels put both men and women at risk for cardiovascular disease. Both sexes can benefit equally from conventional cholesterol-lowering drugs. But as women age, they are less likely than males to use medicine to decrease their cholesterol for a variety of reasons.
Smoking
Women who smoke have a 25% higher risk of having a heart episode than men who smoke. The risk of acquiring heart disease is also increased while using oral contraceptives while smoking.
Blood Sugar
Diabetes mellitus, often known as high blood sugar, is more common in females than in boys. In fact, compared to a male her age, a young woman with diabetes has a four to five times higher risk of getting heart disease. Damage to the vascular and metabolic systems occurs in women with prediabetes earlier than it does in prediabetic men.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a potentially serious sleeping disorder, is characterized by frequent breathing pauses while you sleep. The oxygen flow to all of the organs can be reduced, but the heart is more susceptible to these dips and the accompanying harm. Typical symptoms include snoring, daytime fatigue, and restlessness during sleep. Women with OSA have been found to have higher levels of inflammatory markers, more depression, and more difficulty controlling blood pressure compared to men with the same condition.
Obesity
Women's heart health is more negatively impacted by obesity than that of men. In comparison to men, who have a 46 percent higher chance of having heart disease, obese women have a 64 percent higher relative risk.
Physical Activity
Cardiovascular disease, longevity, and physical activity are all at odds with one another. Women were more inactive than men were among adults according to data from the 2011 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) (33.2 percent versus 29.9 percent).
Women-Specific Heart Disease Risk Factors
There are female-specific risk factors in addition to the normal risk factors mentioned above, such as complications from pregnancy and hormonal considerations. Migraines, autoimmune illnesses (including lupus and rheumatoid arthritis), depression, anxiety, and other problems associated with the onset of heart disease are all considerably more common in women.
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
Her hormones are out of balance in PCOS patients. It might affect menstruation and make getting pregnant more difficult. In PCOS women, obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure are more prevalent. Heart disease and certain illnesses are recognized to be connected. Additionally, PCOS-afflicted women have higher calcium levels in their heart arteries, which increases their risk of suffering a heart attack.
Pregnancy-Related Disorders
Stress testing is seen as pregnancy. Premature labor (delivery before 37 weeks), gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and other issues may occur if this stress test is unsuccessful. A increased risk of heart disease is associated with these issues (a risk that persists later in life, far beyond the affected pregnancy period). For instance, preeclampsia triples and quadruples the likelihood of both high blood pressure and a heart attack. Diabetes during pregnancy increases the risk of heart attack and stroke by four times and by two times, respectively. Additionally, is seven times more likely to result in diabetes. There is speculation that vascular issues, inflammation, and infections have an impact on these associations.
Systemic Rheumatologic Diseases
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis are two conditions that affect women more frequently than males and are associated with a 50% higher risk of developing heart disease. Additionally, when corticosteroids are used to treat these conditions, blood vessel wall inflammation occurs more frequently.
Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer
Breast cancer survival rates have considerably increased. Sadly, this increase in outcomes also contributes to an increase in the frequency of cardiac injury associated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Patients with breast cancer who have received particular types of chemotherapy and chest radiation should be checked for long-term heart issues.
Depression and Migraine
Both conditions are more common in women than in men and have been associated with an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. According to one study, having moderate to severe depression increases your risk of dying and increases your chance of having a heart attack within the next two years. The American Heart Association (AHA) advises that every woman get screened for and treated for depression as a result. High cholesterol, substantial inactivity, depression, disturbed sleep, and heart attacks have all been associated to migraines, especially those with aura (symptoms you experience right before the headache starts).
How Men and Women Are Treated Differ
It has been established that women experience heart disease later than males, despite the benefits of some drugs or the increased precision of heart disease screening methods.
- Stress tests for the diagnosis of heart illness in women are less common.
- Hospital readmission rates are higher for women after a heart attack or episode of heart failure.
- Aspirin, beta-blockers, and statins, medications that are proven to help the course of a heart attack, are prescribed less frequently to women.
- Men are less likely than women to get the recommended 150 minutes of exercise every week. Final Reflections
Despite the fact that heart disease is the primary cause of mortality for women in the United States, risk factors such obesity, inactivity, elevated blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol are on the rise among young women. Women can notice and avoid heart attacks by being aware of female-specific risks and the signs of heart disease. In addition to being informed of their options for treatment following a heart attack, women need to learn to ask their doctor for recommendations and information with confidence.
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