Heart disease and women

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Acute MI

Heart, front view

Heart, section through the middle

Women and heart disease

Mention the term "heart attack" and most people imagine a pudgy, middle-aged man drenched in sweat and clutching his chest. Few people seem to consider cardiovascular disease (CVD) as a woman's disease.

But according to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease is the leading killer of women over age 25. It kills nearly twice as many women in the United States than all types of cancer, including breast cancer. Only 13 percent of women think heart disease is a threat to their health.

The misleading notion that heart disease is not a real problem for women can be blamed in part on medical research. For a very long time, heart disease studies have focused primarily on men. Changes are under way, but some doctors still fail to recognize the warning signs displayed by female patients.

EARLY HEART SIGNS

Studies have shown that women have undiagnosed warning signs weeks, months, and even years before having a heart attack.

Significant differences exist in the symptoms displayed by women and men. Men typically experience the "classic" heart attack signs: tightness in the chest, arm pain, and shortness of breath. Women's symptoms -- nausea, an overwhelming fatigue, and dizziness -- are strikingly different and are often chalked up to stress. Women have reported that they have had a hard time getting their doctors to listen to them about these early warning symptoms.

Unusual fatigue, trouble sleeping, shortness of breath, indigestion, and anxiety were the top 5 symptoms reported by both black and white women in the study. However, black women had more intense episodes and reported them more often.

ACT IN TIME

Recognizing and treating a heart attack right away dramatically improves a patient's chance for survival. The typical American, however, waits 2 hours before calling for help.

Studies have shown that drugs that dissolve coronary blood clots during a heart attack can reduce the death rate in both men and women, although women have a higher risk of stroke from the therapy. Unfortunately, statistics show that a woman in the midst of having a heart attack receives clot-busting therapy much later than a man would.