Heart disease in women

If you think that cardiovascular disease is strictly a man's problem, think again. Most Canadian women have at least one risk factor for heart disease and nearly 39,000 Canadian women die each year from cardiovascular disease. In fact, heart disease claims more women's lives than cancer, accidents and diabetes combined.

However, more worrying is the fact that although heart disease kills seven times as many women as breast cancer, most women are far more aware of breast cancer.

One recent poll showed that only eight percent of women identified heart disease and stroke as their greatest health concern. That some doctors didn't even really believe that women developed heart disease for many years definitely hasn't helped this widespread unawareness. In fact, some doctors continue to overlook uniquely female cardiovascular risks, sometimes even to the point of misdiagnosing or dismissing women's heart attacks while they're happening.

Just as with men, various lifestyle and medical conditions play a part.

Diabetes increases the risk of developing heart disease in women more than in men. It is believed that the interaction of female hormones, blood sugar and insulin may be responsible.

Canadian women tend to be more inactive than Canadian men. An inactive woman doubles her chance of developing heart disease.

And finally, women have been less successful than men in quitting smoking.

• Women play down their own risks. A Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada survey found that upward of 60 percent of women polled thought that breast cancer was the leading cause of death in women in Canada — while only 17 percent correctly identified heart disease as the major cause of death in Canadian women.
• These misconceptions are not unique to Canada. A recent British Heart Foundation report highlighted women's lack of knowledge about the main risk factors for developing heart disease. Only eight percent correctly named high blood cholesterol, five percent high blood pressure and 12 percent family history as factors that increase the likelihood of developing the disease.
• Compared to 25 percent of men, 38 percent of women will die within one year of a first heart attack. Yet only 40 percent of women with angina or who have had a heart attack are taking ASA and only 25 percent are taking statins.
• Menopause is a defining moment for women and heart disease. Before menopause, a woman's naturally high estrogen levels protect her heart. After menopause, women have higher cholesterol levels, which may increase their risk of heart disease, especially if their level of triglycerides (another type of fat particle in the blood) is raised, too. In general, women who have high levels of triglycerides (over 3.9 mmol/l) and low HDL "good" cholesterol (under 1.2 mmol/l) have greater risks for heart disease than do men with similar levels.
• The causes of heart disease are different for women. Women who smoke are twice as likely to have heart attacks as male smokers. Depression is also a stronger heart risk factor for women than men.
• Many women's heart attacks don't include the usual chest pain. A recent study of more than 500 female heart attack survivors found that top symptoms were shortness of breath, feeling weak and/or fatigued, breaking into a cold sweat and dizziness — not the classic heart attack signs that most emergency medical personnel will recognize. Forty-three percent felt no chest pain at all.

Keep all this in mind to help you recognize heart attack symptoms in yourself and/or your loved ones. Also remember that heart disease in women doesn't get the same press as breast cancer, but is an even bigger risk to women's health.