Women And Heart Disease - Statistics Don"t Lie
The statistics for heart disease in women are astounding. Women comprise 60% of all heart attack related deaths in the US every year, and are more likely to die from heart disease than men. Women tend to ignore the early warning signs of impending heart attacks because the symptoms are often vague and can resemble other conditions. Consequently, women are apt to delay getting treatment for their symptoms because they do not recognize the signs and do not understand their risks.
While risk factors remain the same for both men and women, compelling evidence suggests that women respond differently than men due to preconceived notions about heart disease, and do not seek treatment as early as they should. Women tend to be older with higher incidence of hypertension, higher cholesterol and blood sugar levels, but are less likely to be smokers. Women view heart disease as primarily a disease of men and never consider that their symptoms could be heart disease related. This could have dire repercussions should a heart attack ensue.
Women suffering heart attacks are more likely to experience shoulder and abdominal pain, as well as nausea, shortness of breath, and fatigue. These are symptoms that women generally do not associate with having a heart attack. They tend to blame their symptoms on something else entirely, denying themselves an opportunity to survive what could be a devastating heart attack event. The longer it takes to get treatment, the more likely hood of sustaining greater damage to the heart muscle itself.
Women who have had a heart attack report having symptoms in the weeks leading up to a heart attack, but never recognize its relationship to heart disease, putting themselves at risk for a second attack within five years after the first one.
It is curious to note that after arriving at the hospital emergency room, women may be confronted with a delay in validating that a heart attack has actually occurred. EKG testing has been found not to be consistent with what is considered to be classic symptoms of an attack on the heart, therefore, women are less likely to be admitted to the cardiac unit. In addition to this, women are less likely to receive life-saving thrombolytic medication as quickly as do men, thus statistically, women have a higher morality rate for heart attacks than men.
While risk factors remain the same for both men and women, compelling evidence suggests that women respond differently than men due to preconceived notions about heart disease, and do not seek treatment as early as they should. Women tend to be older with higher incidence of hypertension, higher cholesterol and blood sugar levels, but are less likely to be smokers. Women view heart disease as primarily a disease of men and never consider that their symptoms could be heart disease related. This could have dire repercussions should a heart attack ensue.
Women suffering heart attacks are more likely to experience shoulder and abdominal pain, as well as nausea, shortness of breath, and fatigue. These are symptoms that women generally do not associate with having a heart attack. They tend to blame their symptoms on something else entirely, denying themselves an opportunity to survive what could be a devastating heart attack event. The longer it takes to get treatment, the more likely hood of sustaining greater damage to the heart muscle itself.
Women who have had a heart attack report having symptoms in the weeks leading up to a heart attack, but never recognize its relationship to heart disease, putting themselves at risk for a second attack within five years after the first one.
It is curious to note that after arriving at the hospital emergency room, women may be confronted with a delay in validating that a heart attack has actually occurred. EKG testing has been found not to be consistent with what is considered to be classic symptoms of an attack on the heart, therefore, women are less likely to be admitted to the cardiac unit. In addition to this, women are less likely to receive life-saving thrombolytic medication as quickly as do men, thus statistically, women have a higher morality rate for heart attacks than men.
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