When my maternal grandmother had a heart attack at age 52 everyone was stunned. How was it possible for a relatively young woman to suffer a heart attack that endangered her life? friends and family asked when they heard the news.
The risk factors were in sight. My grandmother was a sedentary and obese woman, after giving birth to 13 children and dedicating herself exclusively to housework.
Six years before my grandfather had died of a heart attack. He was a thin and cheerful 61-year-old man. And although all mourned his death, his sudden departure was not considered an extraordinary episode. After all, it was well known that men could die of the heart.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Forty-five years after these sad episodes of my family life persists the misperception that women have fewer risks than men of suffering from cardiovascular diseases.“data-reactid =” 25 “> Forty-five years after these sad episodes of my family life, persists the misperception that women have fewer risks than men of suffering from cardiovascular diseases.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "With the idea of combating misinformation with reliable data , the doctors Noel Bairey Merz Y Martha Gulati, spoke with a group of journalists about the truths and myths about the heart and circulatory system of women. “data-reactid =” 26 “> With the idea of combating misinformation with reliable data, doctors Noel Bairey Merz Y Martha GulatiThey talked with a group of journalists about the truths and myths about the heart and the circulatory system of women.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Both are authorities in the field. Merz is director of the Institute of Cardiology for Women of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and Gulati is the head of Cardiology at the University of Arizona School of Medicine, and the summary of his lecture was published in & nbsp;Journalist´s Resource. “data-reactid =” 27 “> Both are authorities in the field. Merz is director of the Institute of Cardiology for Women of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and Gulati is the head of Cardiology at the School of Medicine of the University of Arizona And the summary of his lecture was published in the Journalist’s Resource.
Myth 1: Cardiovascular disease is a disease of men
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Fact: Women and men have similar probabilities of suffering from cardiovascular disease.“data-reactid =” 29 “>Fact: Women and men have similar probabilities of suffering from cardiovascular disease.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Almost half of women in the United States, around 60 million, have some circulatory disease, such as hypertension, coronary conditions, heart attacks, effusions, according to the data most recent of the American Heart Association. & nbsp; While a similar number of men, 61.5 million, have been treated for the same reasons. “Data-reactid =” 30 “> Almost half of women in the United States, around 60 million, have some circulatory disease, such as hypertension, coronary conditions, heart attacks, effusions, according to the most recent data from the American Heart Association, while a similar number of men, 61.5 million, have been treated for the same reasons.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "In contrast, a disease that captures the attention of the media like breast cancer it affects 12% of Americans, that is, about 3.5 million women. “data-reactid =” 33 “> In contrast, a disease that captures media attention such as breast cancer affects 12% of the Americans, that is, about 3.5 million women.
MYTH 2: Women do not die of heart disease as much as men
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "FACT: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the United States in both sexes. In 2017, 418,655 women and 440,460 men died from a heart problem. “Data-reactid =” 36 “>FACT: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the United States in both sexes. In 2017, 418,655 women and 440,460 men died from a heart problem.
MYTH 3: Women’s cardiovascular disease looks the same as men’s
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "REALITY: Bairey Merz said research has shown that The cardiovascular diseases of women generally look different from that of men. For example, the plaques that form in the walls of the arteries of women have a different appearance from that of men and also the impact that plaques have on arteries is different. “Data-reactid =” 39 “>REALITY: Bairey Merz said research has shown that The cardiovascular diseases of women generally look different from that of men. For example, the plaques that form in the walls of the arteries of women have a different appearance from that of men and also the impact that plaques have on arteries is different.
Those differences are important. The diagnosis of women’s heart attacks needs a more thorough blood study because their hearts tend to be smaller and release less amounts of troponin, a protein that is released by the body when the heart muscle has been damaged.
Failure to take this singularity of the female anatomy into account could explain why there is sometimes a delay in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases in women. And also why researchers often do not differentiate sufficiently the studies carried out by men and women.
MYTH 4: Men and women receive the same treatment
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "FACT: Men are more likely than women to receive medical care that adhere to the established norms for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Dr. Gulati asked, “When a woman has a heart attack, do we treat her the same as a man? The short answer is no.” “Data-reactid =” 45 “>FACT: Men are more likely than women to receive medical care that adhere to the established norms for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Dr. Gulati asked, “When a woman has a heart attack, do we treat her the same as a man? The short answer is no.”
Although disparities in cardiovascular health in the ?? have received increasing attention in recent years with campaigns such as @GoRedForWomen Y @WomenRed
The clinical results remain worse for women than for men who have a #SCA pic.twitter.com/OIWMN8xtNS– Macarena Cousirat L., MD (@CousiratLiendro) January 29, 2020
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MYTH 5: Women who suffer heart attacks say they have “atypical” symptoms such as stomachache, jaw pain, palpitations, instead of the “typical” symptoms of men, such as pain, pressure or stiffness in the chest.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "FACT: Research shows that women actually tend to have typical symptoms but also list a longer list of discomforts.“data-reactid =” 53 “>FACT: Research shows that women actually tend to have typical symptoms but also list a longer list of discomforts.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "A study of 2018 He indicated that a similar percentage of men and women (89.5% and 87%) said they felt chest pain when seeking help for a myocardial infarction. But women were more likely to report three or more additional symptoms than men. “Data-reactid =” 54 “> A 2018 study indicated that a similar percentage of men and women (89.5% and 87%) said they had felt chest pain when seeking help from myocardial infarction, but women were more likely to report three or more additional symptoms than men.
On the other hand, both doctors and women themselves tended less to relate symptoms to a heart problem. For example, women tend to blame their symptoms on stress and anxiety. Half (53%) of infarcted women told health workers that they did not believe the problem was related to the heart, while only 37% of men dismissed that possibility.
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