Women are prone to many heart ailments and the major ones that kill most women include heart attacks, coronary artery disease (CAD), heart failure, irregular heartbeats (arrhythmias) and sudden cardiac arrest (SCD).
Coronary artery disease or CAD is the main reason for heart attacks, heart failures, irregular heartbeats and sudden cardiac arrest in many women. CAD is also known as CHD or coronary heart disease in medical terms. A study on women in 2004 in the USA showed that one out of every four women (especially those over the age of 65) succumbed to heart attacks, while some died due to a combination of cancer and heart attack. It was the numero-uno killer of women in the country. Women in India are not far behind as more and more women are falling prey to his killer disease, albeit silently.
CAD or Coronary Heart Disease
The most common heart ailment that results in heart attacks in women is CAD. CAD is a result of the thickening of the arteries in the heart. As the arteries thicken, the passage for blood flow becomes highly restricted and this leads to angina or chest pain, and finally causes a heart attack. Taking up prevention measures is important. Many women, who have had a mild heart attack, will not make it the next time the same happens.
In CAD or CHD, the inner walls of the arteries are covered with plaque and this builds up over time. Plaque deposits are made up of cholesterol, fats, calcium and other deposits normally found in the blood. The plaque can affect the heart in two ways. A slow build up of plaque narrows the coronary arteries over time and this reduces blood flow to the heart muscles and leads to other symptoms like chest discomfort or Angina.
The accumulated plaque can also rupture suddenly causing blood clot formation on the plaque’s surface. This blood clot in turn blocks blood flow to the artery and when it’s large enough, it can stop the compete flow of blood to the heart muscle. At this point, a heart attack occurs.
Heart Attacks
Heart attacks occur suddenly in the least expected moments and can flush out life in a matter of seconds. At times it can take days or even months before it decides to strike unexpectedly. There are no known symptoms of a heart attack. However the signs to look out for include discomfort in the chest and pain in the arm. The pain can either be mild or acute.
It’s best to seek medical help if you do experience pain in the arm or chest. The pain is a warning signal that a heart attack will soon strike. Other symptoms to watch out for include indigestion, breaking out into a cold sweat, shortness of breath, fatigue, and vomiting without any chest pain. In the case of silent myocardial infarctions or silent heart attacks, women will not exhibit any of the above symptoms and die a silent death. The atypical symptoms that women exhibit are heartburn, cough, weakness, pain in the back, neck or jaw and fluttering of the heart.
Women are less likely to survive heart attacks in comparison to men. This is because women pay little attention to their hearts and fail to go in for an early diagnosis or opt for early treatment. Moreover, women have smaller hearts than men and this could result in easy damage to blood vessels in the heart leading to heart attacks. Lead a healthy lifestyle with plenty of exercise and stay away from tobacco and alcohol. High blood pressure and obesity that leads to diabetes is also a cause of heart attacks. Prevention’ they say, ‘is better than cure’, so ensure that you lead a healthy lifestyle.
