Victoria’s Read

Heart disease is the primary cause of death in women over the age of 55. Women are ten times more likely to die from heart disease than from any other disease. Even if a woman does not die from a heart attack, her activities and mobility may be limited.  

Diabetes increases the risk of a heart attack even more in women than it does in men. Some tests and treatments for heart attacks may not be as effective in women as in men. The symptoms of a heart attack in women are somewhat unusual compared to those in men. Sometimes women with heart disease are not taken seriously and do not receive the appropriate tests and treatment. Too often, heart attacks go unnoticed in women. A woman, her family or her doctor may believe that other insignificant health problems are responsible for her symptoms or that the symptoms will go away on their own. They may also believe that these are the side effects of a drug. Because of this, women do not always get the healthcare necessary to prevent complications or death from a heart attack.

Older women are at a clear disadvantage compared to men. After menopause, they become more vulnerable, particularly if they smoke and have high cholesterol levels. 

Until recently, heart disease was considered a man’s disease and research focused primarily on men. Researchers thought that women had the same symptoms as men. However, studies now show that the symptoms of heart attack in women are very different from those in men and appear at different ages. Also, the warning signs and the effects of a heart attack are often different. While heart attacks are relatively easy to identify in men (strong pain in the chest and left arm), in women, the symptoms are fairly vague, such as: -tightening and ill-defined pain in the chest that may extend into the neck, jaws and shoulders; -heartburn; -nausea and/or vomiting; -difficulty breathing; -shortness of breath; -general feeling of weakness; -paleness or pallor; -anxiety; -sweating. Symptoms may appear and then disappear spontaneously. One woman who is having a heart attack may have a few of these symptoms; another may have all of them at the same time. 

It is never too early to build a strong and healthy heart.

www.cwhn.ca