Most of us believe that it is mainly men who suffer from “heart disease”. It’s a myth. Carrie Fisher, the memorable princess Leia from Star Wars, took the heart attack, cardiovascular diseases affect women more often and kill them more often. Particularly dangerous is the fact that due to non-specific symptoms of a heart attack in women, they see a specialist later than men.
– There is still a general belief that mainly men suffer from heart disease, and we usually think of a heart attack then – says prof. dr hab. med. Danuta Czarnecka, head of the Department of the Institute of Cardiology, Collegium Medicum of the Jagiellonian University. Fortunately, this myth is less and less widespread among doctors. In Poland, 84 men and 94 women die every year from diseases of the cardiovascular system, i.e. heart attack, heart failure or stroke! In men, it is 41-42 percent. all deaths, while in women as much as 52 percent. This trend is similar across Europe, the doctor explains.
The data clearly speaks for itself. So where does this deeply entrenched belief come from? This is the result of inappropriate research methodology. – About 2000, and in some cases even 2005, most of the studies done around the world were studies on men. It is about researching risk factors as well as symptoms and treatment effectiveness. If women were included in the study at all, they constituted a maximum of 20 percent. group – explains prof. dr hab. med. Danuta Czarnecka.
The aftermath of this belief is enormous, because not only are women unable to recognize the symptoms of a heart attack, but also frequently occurring symptoms are underestimated by them. A typical symptom of a heart attack is pain behind the sternum, the doctor explains. – If a man comes to the hospital with such pain, he is treated seriously and usually immediately referred for further diagnostics. For women, the matter is a bit more complicated. First, women often ignore their pain and report to a doctor much later than men. Secondly, when they see this doctor, they describe their ailments so expressively that doctors have the impression that women are hysterical and exaggerating.
A separate problem is the fact that the symptoms of a heart attack in women can take unusual forms. – It may be shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, pain in the jaw, pain in the hand – not necessarily the left one. Such symptoms should be immediately reported if they repeat – says prof. dr hab. med. Danuta Czarnecka. – Time is a muscle, as cardiologists say. The later you get treatment, the larger the area of your heart is damaged.
In the light of the presented data, it is crucial for women to start taking care of the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. – It is worth paying attention to the ads. It is the woman who cares for the man; that he should eat properly (for example, an advertisement with margarine). However, there are practically no ads in which the message would be that a woman should also take care of herself, and yet women are also exposed! – explains the specialist. – Women are afraid of breast cancer, they take care of breast cancer prevention – and that’s good, although neoplastic diseases, such as breast cancer, are the cause of only 3 percent. deaths among women.
It turns out that in women, prevention plays an extremely important role, because the risk factors of cardiovascular diseases, although they are the same for both sexes (e.g. smoking, diabetes, hypertension, high-fat diet, low physical activity) have a stronger impact on women . – Diabetes mellitus, which is a very strong risk factor, increases the risk of a heart attack threefold in men, and fourfold in women. Hypertension increases the risk of a heart attack twice in men and three times in women.
– An extremely important separate issue is the effect of smoking on the risk of developing heart disease. Until 30 years ago, about 60 percent were smoked. men and 30 percent. women, that is, the gap in the percentage of smokers was gigantic. Today, this difference is only 9 percent. This is very disturbing, especially since mostly young women smoke. Meanwhile, when smoking one packet of cigarettes a day, the risk of the previously discussed diseases increases two and a half times in men, and seven times in women – explains Prof. dr hab. med. Danuta Czarnecka.
Regardless of gender, patients should be sensitized to the importance of their actions after a cardiac event. – Doctors, on their part, can widen the arteries, save the muscle, and the patient goes out and returns to his bad habits: he eats poorly, smokes, is not physically active, does not cure hypertension and high cholesterol). It turns out that in the first year after a heart attack, i.e. when patients should be as motivated as possible to change something in their lives, only 9 percent. of them take steps to improve their health.