Research Lacking On Why Heart Disease Is More Deadly For Women

A woman who has heart disease
is 50% more likely to die from it than a man who has it. Although experts
can point to a number of possible explanations for this, the research on
women and heart disease remains inadequate, says the new edition of a
Harvard Medical School report, The Healthy Heart: Preventing, detecting,
and treating coronary artery disease.


Even though men are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than
women, about 38% of women who have a heart attack die within a year of the
event, compared with 25% of men. And women are almost twice as likely as
men to have a second heart attack within six years of the first.



The science behind the differences is unclear. These are some of the
theories discussed in The Healthy Heart:


-- Age. Women seem to become more vulnerable to heart disease only
after their estrogen levels fall with menopause, and so they tend
to suffer first heart attacks later than men. Advanced age may
make it more difficult to survive a heart attack.


-- Coronary microvascular disease. This new diagnosis may apply to
50% to 60% of women, compared with 20% of men. These people have
chest pain when they are active or stressed, but on angiograms,
their coronary arteries appear clear. Studies show that women
with coronary microvascular disease have a higher risk for heart
attack or stroke.


-- Inferior diagnosis and treatment. Some studies suggest women's
heart problems don't receive the same attention as men's.


-- Incomplete understanding of symptoms. Classic heart attack
symptoms were defined based on studies on men. These symptoms
don't always occur in women, which may delay diagnosis and
treatment.


Harvard Health Publications

health.harvard.edu