Understanding Heart Disease in Women

Heart disease is no longer looked at as a disease that affects only men. Women and heart disease have become a great concern. A woman is six times more likely to die from heart disease then breast cancer and kills more woman over the age of 65 than all the cancers combined. Woman off all ages should be aware of the signs and symptoms of heart disease. It is the leading cause of death of women over the age of 40 and the third leading killer of women ages 25 to 44.

The risks of developing heart disease in women are much the same as men but women have a few additional factors to be aware of. A woman chance of develop heart disease increases with age especially after menopause. The reason being that the body produces less natural estrogen after menopause. Doctors have linked heart disease with these postmenopausal risks. After menopause the blood vessels in women change. Plague is more likely to build up and blood clots to form. The fats in the blood change as well causing LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) to increase and HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) to decrease. The arteries start to narrow and reduces the flow to the heart. Fibrinogen levels increase causing blood clots to form.

Many of the risk factors that are shared by men and women have a greater chance of causing heart disease in women. Mental stress and depression increases the risk of heart disease in women 2 to 3 times more than men. Smoking is a risk for men and women but it is women that the risk is greater. Also women can develop metabolic syndrome. This syndrome is where there is a excessive amount of fat around the abdomen. Blood pressure, blood sugar and triglycerides tend to increase. Metabolic syndrome increases the risk factor of heart disease in women.

The signs and symptoms of a heart attack or stroke in women are different than the signs and symptoms of men. The pain is not always in the chest. A woman can feel pain in her neck, shoulders, upper back and have abdominal discomfort. A woman will become short of breath, have nausea and vomiting, sweat, become light-headed or dizzy and experience unusual fatigue. The signs and symptoms are usually mistaken for something else and women end up going to the hospital too late and the severe heart damage has already taken place.

It is important that women of all ages know the risks, signs and symptoms of heart disease. Seek immediate medical attention if you have more than one of the symptoms of a stroke or heart attack. Be sure that all the symptoms you are experiencing are told to your physician. Heart disease in woman can be easily overlooked.

For more information on heart disease in women you can visit the following websites:

www.webmd.com

www.mayoclinic.com