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I was on the treadmill at my hotel gym the other day working to get my heart rate right up there (okay, near) where it should be for someone in my age category (this is one time that I pretend to be older so that those numbers seem attainable), and I noticed a gentlemen who appeared to be in his 50s walking slowly on the treadmill next to me. For some reason, I thought that he might have been doing some rehabilitative therapy after a heart attack. Since there were just two of us in the small gym, my inclination was to hang around after I was done just in case something happened to him.
But truth be told, he should have been looking out for me. As it turns out, heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular disease kills almost 500,000 women in the United States each year, more than the total number of deaths from all cancers combined.
A shocking statistic for sure, but do we really understand what heart disease is? Here's a primer. There are several types of heart disease, but the most common is coronary artery disease. This occurs when arteries that supply blood to the heart become clogged by plaque. This inhibits the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart causing a heart attack. Over time, coronary heart disease can weaken the heart muscle, causing other problems like heart failure and arrhythmia. Though the definition of heart disease is the same for men and women, the realities can be quite different.
When we think of someone having a heart attack what comes to mind? Probably an image from television or the movies, where a large sweaty man clutches his chest and falls to the ground while helpless people gather around him and yell for help. We never picture a woman in this scenario, because, well, this doesn't always happen to women.
Not the heart attack, the symptoms. Instead of the crushing chest pain, shortness of breath, sweating, and pain radiating down the left arm, women often experience more subtle symptoms such as pain in the upper back, jaw discomfort, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and dizziness.
This may seem inconsequential, but it's actually quite significant. Women don't always recognize these symptoms as those of a heart attack and worse yet, many doctors don't either. Because of this lack of awareness on the part of the patient and the doctor, women are often misdiagnosed with the flu, indigestion, or anxiety. This can lead to delayed treatment and in some cases, death.
Heart disease affects about one third of women, yet women still put it at the bottom of their list of health concerns. According to a 2002 survey by the National Institutes of Health, only 9% of women age 45-64 feared heart disease the most, while 61% considered breast cancer the most dangerous health threat. Seventy experts in women's health met in March 2001 to develop a national plan to reduce the toll of heart disease on women. These groups revealed that "most women underestimate their personal risk and don't fully understand the devastating impact that heart disease has on one's life and family."
As evidence of this, a survey of women heart patients published in the medical journal, Women's Health Issues, reported that 45% of women said they felt their heart disease had "come out of the blue."
Perhaps we feel this way because traditionally heart disease has been thought of as a man's illness. Most of the major heart disease studies were done on men, which is why there is a disparity in the way women are treated. Statistics show that every year since 1984 more women than men have died of heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases, yet women comprise only 25% of participants in heart-related medical research studies.
Doctors just don't have a lot of information on how well women respond to treatments used for men, which explains why women are less likely than men to receive proven medications, including aspirin, following a heart attack.
Additionally, 38% of women die within a year of their first heart attack compared to 25% for men, yet women receive only one third of angioplasties, stents, and bypass surgeries and less than one quarter of all implantable defibrillators. Though the information that doctors have on women's heart disease is limited, there are things you can do to raise awareness and prevent it from occurring in the first place.
The most important thing you can do to prevent heart disease is to educate yourself.
You must take the time to learn the facts, understand the risks, and listen to stories from those who've been there. Increasing awareness starts with sharing that information with others, with friends, with relatives, and with our doctors. Help yourself by identifying your risk factors and learning what you can do to control them.
High blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, obesity, age, and family history all increase your risk for heart disease. Make an appointment with your doctor to discuss testing, medications, or lifestyle changes you may need to make. Insist that your doctor take your concerns seriously. If your doctor isn't well versed on women's heart disease, show him or her articles, talk about statistics, and explain your concerns. If your doctor is a woman, she might be well served by this information too. Don't be afraid to speak up-it can save lives.
Renee Dexter is a feature article writer and partner in Rainmaker Publishing. She is committed to educating women about their risks for heart disease.
"Women expect dramatic symptoms and most of the time they are not. Another problem is that some primary care physicians and hospital emergency room staff are also not aware of these subtle symptoms and misdiagnose women's heart attacks as the flu, acid reflux, or anxiety. In some cases the doctor may think the woman is too young or too healthy to be having a heart attack"
Dr Sharonne Hayes,
Director of the Mayo Clinic's Women's Heart Clinic in Rochester Minnesota
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