HEART attack causes and warning signs can differ greatly between woman and men, a new study has warned.
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| Stark differences have been revealed between male and female heart attack patients |
While both sexes experience chest pain before or during a heart attack, women may be more likely to have unusual symptoms instead such as shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, and back, jaw or neck pain.
The telltale signs of heart attacks in women often go unnoticed or mistaken for other health problems, meaning women are often treated less quickly and could suffer more damage as a result.
Many people are not aware that the telltale signs for heart attacks differ between genders. according to a report by the American Heart Association.
Dr Laxmi Mehta, the lead author of the study, said: “Women seem to do worse for several reasons.”
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| Men are quicker to notice tell-tale signs |
At hospital, women may be less likely to receive medications to help prevent blood clots, lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
Both men and women get heart attacks caused by blockages in the main arteries leading to the heart, the clots differ between the genders.
Men have more of a “classic” type of blockage, where plaque ruptures off the artery wall, forms a blood clot and causes a complete halt of blood flow through the artery to the heart.
Dr Mehta, the director of women’s cardiovascular health at Ohio State University in Columbus, added: “There is a lot at stake for women when there is a delay in treatment or lack of adherence to recommended therapies.”
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| Diabetes is a risk factor differentiating men and women |
On the other hand, Dr. Sheila Sahni, chief fellow in cardiovascular disease at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles, said: “Women more often, tend to have a plaque erosion where smaller pieces of plaque break off, become exposed and cause the formation of smaller blood clots which may or may not cause total occlusions all at once, leading to a more subtle presentation.”
Women also tend to be older - by about a decade - than men when they suffer heart attacks.
The report suggests this might mean women are frailer and more likely to suffer from other health problems such as diabetes that can make treatment more complicated.
Risk factors also differ between men and women. High blood pressure is more strongly associated with women and heart attacks, and young women with type-2 diabetes face a heart disease risk that’s up to five times greater than men’s.
More evidence is also mounting indicating psychological stresses can increase the risk of heart disease - and it’s affecting more women than men.
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| Black woman have a higher incidence of heart attacks in all categories |
As well as different risk factors, women are often underrepresented at clinical trials and there are huge disparities between race. Black women have a higher incidence of heart attacks in all age categories.
The report reiterates the importance in getting help once a heart attack begins.
Dr Leslie Cho, director of the women’s cardiovascular centre at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio added: “Time is muscle.
“If women are diagnosed and treated later in the course of the heart attack, they can suffer from irreversible heart damage.”
The statement issued by the American Heart Association was published in the journal of Circulation.
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