It’s a very common misconception that heart attacks, and heart disease, are conditions that mostly affect men. The truth, however, is that coronary heart disease kills more than twice as many women as breast cancer in the UK every year, and it was the single biggest killer of women worldwide in 2019.
The British Heart Foundation records that there are 800,000 women in the UK living with coronary heart disease - the main cause of heart attacks - and each year more than 30,000 women are admitted to hospital in the UK due to a heart attack.
So, why is it that women are so adversely affected by heart disease? What signs should women look out for? What can women do throughout their life to prevent developing chronic heart conditions and heart disease?
Women and Heart Disease
Until a woman reaches her menopause, she has a level of protection from heart disease that is not afforded to most men. In fact, pre-menopause women have a much lower risk of developing heart disease than men.
The hormone oestrogen, which plays a vital part in the menstrual cycle, provides good heart protection by controlling cholesterol levels, blood pressure and reducing the risk of fatty plaques building up inside the artery walls.
During and after menopause, the levels of oestrogen drop dramatically and all of that protection begins to reduce significantly, leaving women at a higher risk of developing heart disease, and stroke, at this stage in their lives than men.
Signs of Heart Attack in Women
Women are less likely to seek emergency help when experiencing symptoms of a heart attack, perhaps because there’s a belief that it’s unlikely to be happening to them or because, in fact, many of the symptoms for women are different from those for men. Women are also more inclined to describe their symptoms using different terminology or descriptive language, so are not used to hearing those kinds of phrases in relation to heart attacks.
However, in general, the most common signs of a heart attack for women (and men) would be:
- Chest pain or discomfort in your chest that suddenly occurs and doesn't go away. It may feel like pressure, tightness or squeezing. Some women describe this as having a very heavy weight pressing down on their upper body.
- A pain spreading to your left or right arm, your neck, jaw, back or stomach
- Feeling sick, sweaty, light-headed or short of breath.
Other less common symptoms include:
- a sudden feeling of anxiety that can feel similar to a panic attack
- excessive coughing or wheezing
- If you think you're having a heart attack, call 999 for an ambulance immediately. Women are often worried about causing a nuisance or raising a false alarm when calling 999, another reason why they are less likely to seek emergency help when symptoms occur.
- The message that many cardiologists like is that it’s better to laugh about it having been a false alarm after you’ve been checked out than to miss the opportunity to have your life saved if it’s not. Call 999.
How can Women Prevent Heart Disease?
It’s important for women to live a heart healthy lifestyle throughout their life, but it’s particularly important they they remain heart healthy as they age and go through the menopause stages of their life.
Being aware that the risk factors increase significantly for women can help to focus the mind during the peri-menopause and menopause years, on top of the fact that as we age our risk of developing coronary heart disease increases too. The major risk factors for developing heart disease are:
- High Blood pressure - it’s recommended that you regularly use a heart blood pressure monitor at home to keep a close eye on how your BP levels change. Any significant change should be reported immediately to your GP.
- High Cholesterol. Again a home cholesterol testing kit can be useful for regular monitoring.
- Diabetes
- Smoking
- Being Overweight
- Not being physically active
Even if you’re physically fit and you regularly exercise, it’s recommended that if you’re a woman over the age of 40 you should ask your GP for a heart health assessment to find out your risk of developing heart disease in the next 5 - 10 years.
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September 2022