Girls usually have these symptoms, don’t ignore them, it may be life-threatening!

Picture: Huang Tsai | Written by: Six Teams | Editor in charge: Floating Cannon

A question for you: “Do you know what is the number one disease that threatens women’s health?”

Cervical cancer? Breast cancer? Or endometrial cancer?

Neither! Statistics show that cardiovascular disease accounts for 35% of the annual deaths of women in the world, and has surpassed cerebrovascular disease and malignant tumors to become the primary disease threatening women’s health!

Meanwhile, because women and men have symptoms and risk factors for heart disease differently, women are diagnosed and treated later, leading to heart disease in young women Mortality after attack is twice that of men!

In order to make more people pay attention to women’s heart disease, today I will take you to understand:

What are the risk factors for heart disease in women?

What factors make women more likely to develop heart disease?

How does the clinical presentation of heart disease in women differ from that in men?

Combining the characteristics of women suffering from heart disease, how should we prevent it?

Heart disease in women

Cardiovascular disease remains the morbidity, mortality and disability rate of many diseases. According to the National Cardiovascular Disease Center’s 2013 “China Cardiovascular Disease Report”, the number of cardiovascular disease patients in my country is about 290 million, including 270 million hypertension, 2.5 million myocardial infarction, and 4.5 million heart failure. One person had cardiovascular disease.

Heart disease among women is:

Coronary Heart Disease

Coronary heart disease is one of the most common cardiovascular diseases, with coronary atherosclerotic heart disease being the most common. This disease is caused by the presence of atherosclerotic plaques in the coronary arteries, resulting in stenosis or blockage of the lumen, affecting the blood supply to the heart muscle, resulting in angina pectoris, myocardial infarction and even sudden death.

▲Image source: google

Syndrome X

Syndrome X is a type of disease with angina symptoms but generally normal coronary angiography, which is most common in postmenopausal women.

arrhythmia

The normal heart rate is 60 to 100 beats per minute, so according to the literal meaning of arrhythmia, we can know that this type of disease is manifested by the heart beating too fast or too slow, or even Cardiac arrest.

Patients with arrhythmias have different symptoms based on the abnormal rhythm and frequency. In mild cases, palpitation, palpitations, fatigue, and decreased exercise tolerance may occur, and in severe cases, heart failure, syncope and even sudden death may occur.

▲Image source: google

Cardiomyopathy

Myocardial structural disease caused by a variety of etiologies, abnormal cardiac structure and function will be found during echocardiography, which is very important for the diagnosis of cardiomyopathy. In addition, because some cardiomyopathy has a clear familial inheritance, clinicians will also recommend genetic testing of immediate family members.

Heart failure

Heart failure is an end-stage disease process in the cardiovascular system.Due to various reasons, the pumping function of the heart is damaged, and the blood volume cannot meet the basic metabolic needs of the whole body tissue, which is manifested as dyspnea and fluid retention.

Broken Heart Syndrome

Broken heart syndrome, also known as stress cardiomyopathy, refers to stress reactions such as rapid heartbeat, increased blood pressure, and excessive vascular spasm when people are too excited or sad. Malignant arrhythmias and even sudden death may occur. However, the prognosis of the disease is generally good after treatment.

The disorder is more common in women than men and predominantly in menopausal women. Research shows that women are about 9 times more likely to have the disease than men, and women over 55 are 4.8 times more likely than women under 55.

What causes heart disease in women?

In 2021, the Lancet published a global survey on women and heart disease, summarizing the risk factors for heart disease in women:

▲Image source: Reference[2]

Important Risk Factors

Hypertension

Dyslipidemia

Diabetes

Obesity

Unhealthy eating

Sedentary lifestyle

Smoking

These 7 risk factors are all confirmed by evidence-based medicine. Sedentary, smoking and unhealthy diet are also what we often talk about unhealthy lifestyle. These unhealthy lifestyles lead to the emergence of metabolic syndrome, including the often-called “three highs” (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia). The above-mentioned unhealthy lifestyle and metabolic syndrome greatly increase the incidence of cardiovascular disease.

In addition, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease in women is highly correlated with their gender specificity.

Sex-specific risk factors

Premature menopause: Women with premature menopause have a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular disease than normal menopausal women, and the earlier the age of menopause, the earlier the age of cardiovascular disease. Shows a certain positive correlation;

Menopause Hormone Replacement Therapy: Women on hormone replacement therapy during menopause may have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but further research is needed;

Pregnancy-related disorders: such as preterm birth, gestational diabetes, and hypertension, which increase the risk of cardiovascular disease later in life;

Hormonal contraceptives: Many women of childbearing age choose contraceptives, but they can lead to high blood pressure, venous thrombosis, and may even increase the risk of cardiovascular disease . We recommend that you choose contraceptive methods carefully, and consult the obstetrics and gynecology clinic if necessary;

Polycystic ovary syndrome: Women with polycystic ovary syndrome have a higher risk of developing high blood pressure and diabetes during pregnancy, and therefore cardiovascular disease also higher;

Autoimmune diseases: Autoimmune diseases seem to favor women more, including lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, vasculitis, etc. , these diseases may lead to cardiovascular disease. In addition, autoimmune diseases often require treatment with glucocorticoids, which in turn lead to abnormal blood sugar, blood lipids, and blood pressure, which further increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

▲Image source: Giphy

Important underrecognized risk factors

There are also some risk factors that may affect women’s health, but these risk factors still need extensive research to fully confirm.

Depression: Depression and anxiety increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and death, and depression can increase the risk of adverse cardiac events by 2-4 times;

p>

Abuse and Intimate Partner Violence: Intimate partner violence increases chronic stress, which in turn affects mental healthHealth and lifestyle habits (such as smoking, drinking) increase the incidence of cardiovascular disease;

Environmental risk factors: Air pollution increases the risk of coronary artery disease, heart failure, arrhythmia or cardiac arrest, and cerebrovascular disease or thromboembolism;

Socioeconomic and cultural status, race, and poverty: Wealth, status have a higher negative impact on women, and minority and poor women have fewer access to health resources.

In addition, a Yale University study found that young women (under age 55) are predisposed to heart disease risk factors are:

Diabetes

Smoking

Anxiety and Depression

Hypertension

Family history of premature cardiovascular disease

Hyperlipidemia

Symptoms of a heart attack in women

The symptoms of a heart attack in women are very different from those in men.

Although both men and women, the most common heart attack symptoms are chest pain and tightness. But sometimes a woman’s attack symptoms tend to look less like a heart attack, such as:

Neck, jaw, shoulder, upper back, or abdominal discomfort

shortness of breath

Pain in one or both arms

nausea or vomiting

Sweat

Heaviness or dizziness

Unusual fatigue

Heartburn (indigestion)

Women and men experience heart attack symptoms at different locations ▲Image source: Tenth A clinic drawing

In addition, women differ in attack characteristics of heart attack:

Women are more likely to have a heart attack while resting or even sleeping

Mood swings may also be a significant cause of heart attacks in women

Because women have different heart attack symptoms and characteristics than men, women may be less likely to be diagnosed with heart disease than men.

For example, a young female patient described her symptoms as chest pain, chest tightness, dizziness, and fatigue. Before considering a diagnosis of heart disease, doctors may prefer neurological causes of emotional and psychological reasons. Diagnosis of functional disorders.

Female patients are more likely to experience delayed treatment and less effective treatment because the cause is not well understood and identified.

A study published in the April 2022 issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association shows that women with chest pain symptoms are less likely than men to be classified in the emergency department for an EKG Examination, hospitalization, or continuous observation. And women waited an average of 48 minutes to see a doctor, about 11 minutes longer than men.

How can we prevent heart disease?

Heart disease has seriously threatened women’s health, so how can we prevent heart disease from the source and protect our health?

Most of the important risk factors mentioned above can be changed. Yale University research shows that 80.2% of women’s risk factors for heart disease can be improved by establishing a healthy lifestyle prevention.

▲Image source: Giphy

Quitting: It is recommended for women who smoke to quit smoking. If you don’t smoke now, don’t try to smoke. At the same time, try to avoid exposure to second-hand smoke. Second-hand smoke can also damage blood vessels. ;

Healthy eating: Choose whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Avoid foods high in trans fat, added sugar and salt;

Exercise and maintain a healthy weight: Regular exercise can help keep your heart healthy, ideally at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a day and maintain a healthy weight ;

Relieve stress: Stress can increase the risk of heart disease, especially coronary microvascular disease, and exercise, mindfulness, and communication with friends and family can all help reduce stress pressure;

Avoid or limit alcohol: it is best not to drink alcohol, and if necessary, try to limit it;

Follow your doctor’s orders: If you have other health problems, follow your doctor’s orders to take medicines and treatments on time;

Focus on your health: Annual physical examination, monitoring your blood pressure, blood lipids, blood sugar data, and timely treatment if problems occur.

In addition, if you have chest pain or any of the above symptoms, be sure to seek medical attention immediately, and don’t ignore the less obvious symptoms!

Women’s heart disease has always been underestimated, and when it comes to serious diseases related to women, people seem to be more afraid of breast and cervical cancer, but heart disease is a Women are far more harmful than other diseases!

I hope today’s article will help you understand the risk factors of heart disease in women, help you prevent heart disease from the root cause, and at the same time make More people know heart attack symptoms and seek immediate medical attention if they or those around them are in danger.

Finally, everyone is welcome to actively forward and share, so that more people will pay attention to women’s heart disease.

I love the world.