DECODING HEART HEALTH IN WOMEN

INTRODUCTION

Hello Ladies, this World Heart Day, let us pledge to gain an insightful perspective on heart health issues and ways to care for our heart, which is so loving, caring, selfless, and tender!

'Heart that beats tirelessly for a lifetime knows no gender. But gender matters regarding heart disease-related risks in women.' This is so because, though heart disease is a problem affecting both men and women, the causes, symptoms, and factors affecting them vary. It is contrary to the general belief that the causes and symptoms of heart disease in women are the same as in men. Though preventable, heart diseases in women, too, are taking a toll and becoming the leading cause of death in women. The rise in death rates is a grave concern and a wake-up call for timely remedial measures to curb its onslaught.

GENDER BASED DIFFERENCES IN HEART HEALTH 

For a long, heart disease was considered a man's problem, and women played the role of a caregiver. Even when heart diseases were considered an equal threat to women's health and well-being just as they were to men, the understanding of the diseases was based on men's heart health issues with gaps in diagnosis and treatment in women, often resulting in the latter's health problems being undetected or undertreated. One of the primary reasons for treatment modalities and diagnostic tests to be biased towards men initially could be the inclusion of insufficient numbers of women in clinical trial cohorts, with this gender remaining underrepresented in the study. The medical data and statistics gathered from these clinical tests and trials led to diagnoses and treatments biased toward men. Fortunately, this practice is changing and is adopting inclusivity, with more women patients being part of the clinical trial cohorts.

Research and studies have shown gender-based differences in the causes and symptoms affecting women, understanding which helps in the prevention and timely diagnosis and treatment of heart problems in women.

CAUSES AND SYMPTOMS OF HEART DISEASE-COMMON YET UNIQUE

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is among the most common heart diseases affecting both genders. The classic contributing factors like high blood pressure, obesity, and high cholesterol are common in both. Similarly, the common symptoms of heart disease in men and women are chest pain, shortness of breath, on and off pressure, or discomfort. However, certain factors and symptoms of heart health risks are unique in women and play a significant role in developing heart diseases in women.

It is not the lack of awareness of the disease but the lack of timely and correct diagnosis that escalates the severity of heart disease. The exponential rise in cardiovascular health problems reported recently, even in health-conscious and fitness freaks, throws light on the silent symptoms and other factors relating to cardiovascular diseases, which are ignored, and prove fatal and life-threatening for women. 

FACTORS CALLING IMMEDIATE ATTENTION FOR IMPROVED HEART HEALTH IN WOMEN