Women with acute angina are three times more likely to develop coronary heart disease than men, according to a study in the Journal of Internal Medicine.
Canadian scientists drew such a conclusion after analyzing data on 23,7 thousand. patients who present for the first time for angiography (examination of the blood vessels).
Coronary heart disease is one of the leading causes of health problems in the Western world. It is responsible for over a third of deaths. In fact, more women die from this disease each year than from breast cancer. Even so, there is still a perception that coronary heart disease primarily affects men, says Catherine Kreatsoulas of McMaster University, Canada.
Our research has shown, however, that women with class IV angina, meaning that symptoms occur with every activity they perform and even while resting, are much more likely to develop advanced ischemic heart disease than men, the researcher adds.
Women over 60 years of age diagnosed with class IV angina (according to the functional classification of the Canadian Cardiac Society) were 21 percent. more at risk than men from ischemic heart disease. Among younger women, the risk was 11 percent. higher.
However, when researchers took factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking and age into account, the risk for women tripled (82% compared with 28% for men).
We hope that this information will help doctors identify women at risk of developing coronary heart disease and implement appropriate diagnostic and treatment strategies, concludes Dr. Sonia Anand, professor of medicine and epidemiology at McMaster University (PAP).