Did you know that the majority of women die from heart disease worldwide, and most women are unaware of it? This happens because women have unique risk factors that increase their risk of cardiovascular disease. Mostly, these factors get ignored and are not addressed on time, when they can be managed through medical intervention. Learn what unique risk factors in women increase the risk of heart disease and how it can be screened in this article. Get a consultation with the best cardiologists in Brooklyn.
Heart disease in women
Like men, women can get any type of heart disease. The most common is coronary artery disease. However, there are some types of heart disease which are less common in men and affect women more, including:
- Coronary microvascular disease: This condition causes chest pain due to spasms (sudden tightening) in the smallest arteries of the heart, which can stop blood flow. Mostly, it occurs during rest or routine activities. However, if it gets serious, it can increase your risk of a heart attack or other heart disease. This type of heart problem is more challenging to diagnose because blockages in smaller arteries are often difficult to detect on imaging tests.
- Broken heart syndrome: Strong chest pain or other signs that appear like a heart attack, but caused by high emotional stress, such as deep grief, anger, or surprise, are the common signs of this heart condition. It can occur even when you’re healthy; however, it mostly affects women after menopause and usually doesn’t cause any long-lasting damage.
- Variant angina: It is a rare type of strong chest pain that occurs from spasms in the heart arteries. This pain usually occurs in a pattern during sleep. In rare cases, it can cause a heart attack.
Unique risk factors for heart disease in women
Some unique risk factors in women increase their risk of heart disease, like:
- Menopause:
Similar to men, women can also develop heart disease at any age, but their risk increases when they hit menopause, usually by the age of 55. This happens because before menopause, women’s bodies produce estrogen (a necessary female hormone) that protects the heart against heart disease. That’s why when natural menopause or surgical removal of ovaries happens, it decreases your estrogen levels. That’s why women usually develop coronary artery disease 10 years later than men. During and after menopause, a drop in estrogen levels increases your risk of blood clots, atherosclerosis, and high cholesterol; all put you at risk of heart disease. In case your periods stop before the age of 40, your risk is much higher than other women at your age.
- Problems during pregnancy:
During pregnancy, women can develop some problems that can greatly increase the risk of heart diseases, including:
- Preeclampsia: This condition significantly raises the risk of developing high blood pressure and diabetes later in life. It can also raise the risk of stroke. This diagnosis puts a person at a 75% chance of dying from cardiovascular disease in the future.
- Gestational diabetes: This type of diabetes increases the risk of diabetes later in life. It also raises the risk of cardiovascular disease later in life.
- Peripartum cardiomyopathy: This condition weakens the heart muscles and leads to heart failure. It has serious complications or can even cause death.
- Anemia: Loss of blood during pregnancy can strain your heart muscle to work harder to produce more blood, increasing the risk of heart muscle weakening or failure.
- Difficulty managing blood pressure:
When women cross the age of 60, they are more likely to have hypertension, which is difficult to manage due to various reasons:
- Responses to treatment: Women are more prone to develop adverse drug reactions, which make it difficult to establish and stay with a suitable treatment plan.
- Sodium sensitivity: After menopause, women’s bodies become more sensitive to sodium, which means you need to restrict sodium in your diet even more than before to prevent blood pressure from rising.
- Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS):
It is a common hormonal disorder in women that raises their cardiovascular disease risk. This often leads to risk factors like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and sleep apnea, all of which significantly raise the risk of heart disease.
- Use of hormonal birth control:
Using hormonal birth control, especially estrogen-containing methods, can increase the risk of heart disease in some women because it affects blood clotting and blood pressure. The risk is usually lower in healthy young women; certain factors like smoking, age, obesity, and pre-existing conditions can raise the risk even further.
If you have one or more risk factors for heart disease, you should consult with your healthcare provider to understand your risk level and get tested to find heart disease earlier.
Heart screening for women is very crucial to maintain good heart health and manage their unique risk factors of heart disease. These factors increase as they age and have an unhealthy lifestyle. Make sure you maintain a good lifestyle and take necessary action whenever there are symptoms of heart disease to keep your heart healthy.
For heart problems, visit our cardiology clinic in Brooklyn to get professional medical help, or call us on +1 718 367 2555. The Cardiologists at Doral Health & Wellness consistently have outstanding patient satisfaction ratings. The professionals at Doral Health & Wellness Cardiology Brooklyn can improve your health and quality of life because of their vast training and experience. New Yorkers can get the greatest medical, surgical, and cardiovascular care at Doral Health & Wellness Brooklyn. Visit us at 1797 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11212.
