Pregnancy, the pill, a broken heart and other surprising risk factors for heart disease among women
Millions of women every year are affected by heart disease – it is the leading cause of death among women worldwide, and New Zealandis no exception.
In New Zealand,nearlydiedfrom heartdiseaseevery weekin 2017, making it New Zealand’s single biggest killer.
But why is heart disease among women so common, and yet still such a mystery? The short answer is women's hearts are different and so are their risk factors for heart disease.
So how can you tell if you’re at risk and what can you do about it?
Recently Heart Surgeon Dr Nikki Stamp spoke atthe Dietitian Connection Heart Health Breakfast Symposium, here’s what she had to say:
A woman's heart is different
We know the heart is special, but what makes a woman’s heart different from aman’s? One difference we’ve discovered is how plaquebuilds up in the blood vessels.
Whenplaquedevelops in a man’s blood vessels, the vesselsbecome, whereas when blockages occur in a woman’s blood vessels, the vessels become narrower, but blood can still flow through them. This means women respond to heart attacks differently, because the symptoms creep up over time.
What are heart attack symptoms in women?
The symptoms of a man’s heart attack are more like those we see in the movies – think crushing chest pain, whereas onlypresent ‘typical’ heart attack symptoms when experiencing a heart attack.
When having a heart attackwomenԴDz-such astiredness,dizziness,breathlessness,back andshoulderpainandnausea. This can makeitfor both women themselves and healthcare workers to determine what’s wrong. I mean who doesn’t feel tired a lot of the time!
Heart disease in women is under recognised, under diagnosed and under managed - why?
Firstly, there’s a lack of female-specific research. There’s also a lack of awareness for women. In Australia theHeart Foundation’scampaign aims to raise awareness of women’s heart disease, but there’s a long way to go. There’s also a lack of education for healthcare professionals and lack of women working in cardiovascular health.
What causes heart disease in women?
While therisk factors affecting women arehighcholesterol(whichis very under treated in women), being overweight and physicallyinactive, there are some common and surprising risk factors too:
A difficult pregnancy
Pregnancy places stresses on the body which can have a long-lasting impact. There’s an increasing amount ofscientificresearchlinking a woman’s pregnancy, or pregnancies,and her long-term health.
Women who have a difficult pregnancy may have a higher risk of heart disease later in life. If you hadwhile pregnant, it means you are atof developing type 2 diabetes in later life – this in turn increases your risk of heart attack or stroke. If you suffered– which affects approximatelyof pregnancies– you’re atdouble the riskof having a heart attack or stroke later in life, compared to women who didn’t have pre-eclampsia.
Taking the pill
When it comes to heart health, the contraceptive pill isconsideredfor most young women. However, if you are a smoker, and on the pill, itgreatlyofheartdisease, stroke, and blood clots. Having a family history of heart disease also adds to this risk. Discuss the risks with your doctor before being prescribed, stopping or changing a prescription for the pill.
Menopause
While heart disease can occur at any age, the risk increasesaround(onaround the age of 52). This is thought to be mainly theof a drop in oestrogen levels and the flow-on effects of this, along with other physiological, forexampleworsening of the lipid profile and a reduction in energy expenditure that occurat this time.
A broken heart
One condition that affects women almost exclusivelyis, better known as ‘’. It’s a type of heart failure usually brought on by significant emotional or physical shock bringing on an explosion of stress hormones. More than 90% of takotsubo cases occur in post-menopausal women.
Migraines
Migrainesarein women than men, and research has shown that if you get migraines you’reaboutto get heart attacks or heart rhythm disorders. The link between migraines and heart disease, but one theory is that the same genes responsible for migraines raise the chances of heart disease.
Best tips for heart health
While heart health is a major issue, the good news is many of the risk factors can be reduced with lifestyle changes. Here areNikki Stamp’s 5 best tips for heart health:
- Eat aheart friendlydiet –therecommends plenty of vegetables, fruit and wholegrains, a variety ofhealthy protein-rich foodshealthy fats and oils – a dietsimilar tothe– for a heart-healthy diet.
- Get active –aim for 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity over a week (just over 20 minutes a day).
- Quit smoking –smokinggreatlyincreasesthe risk of developing heart disease.For supportto quit smoking, checkout.
- Know your risk –all women should know the risks they face, for example their blood pressure and family history.
- Talk to those you love about heart health –if every woman told 2 or 3womenthey know to be aware of their heart health, this would go a long way to protecting more women.
Seeto find out when you should get a health check.
Dr Nikki Stamp FRACS is an Australian trained cardiothoracic surgeon. She hasno formal relationship withʵHealth Food Company.
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