Heart Disease in Women

Did you know that despite coronary heart disease often being considered a man’s disease, it accounts for one-third of all female deaths globally? It was the single biggest killer of women worldwide in 2019, taking the lives of 8.9 million (35%) women. In fact, heart disease kills twice as many women as breast cancer!

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, around one in 16 women aged 20 and older have coronary heart disease. One of the main challenges that women face with their coronary health is that heart-related diseases in women are understudied, underrecognized, underdiagnosed/misdiagnosed, undertreated, and lack sufficient awareness of the sex-specific clinical symptoms of heart disease, which can help women seek early intervention.

As with all challenges in Women’s Health, raising awareness around heart disease in women can help save many lives worldwide.

Symptoms of Heart Disease

One of the most common symptoms of heart disease in both men and women is chest pain. However, in women chest pain, along with other recognized symptoms are often vague and not as noticeable, and sometimes misdiagnosed for other conditions. In some cases, women can experience a heart attack without any chest pain symptoms. Some of the common symptoms women experience are:

Neck, jaw, shoulder, upper back, or upper belly (abdomen) discomfort
Shortness of breath
Pain in one or both arms
Nausea or vomiting
Sweating
Light-headedness or dizziness
Unusual fatigue
Heartburn (indigestion)

Risk Factors of Heart Disease

While there are several risk factors for heart disease that are the same for men and women such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, lack of physical exercise, inflammatory disease unhealthy diet and lifestyle, and obesity, there are factors that are thought to increase the development of heart disease in women, which include:

Menopause: Reduced levels of estrogen after menopause can increase the risk of developing the disease in smaller blood vessels.
Smoking: Although this is a risk with men too, women who smoke are at more risk than men of developing heart disease.
Diabetes: There is an increased risk of women with diabetes developing heart disease than men with diabetes.
Pregnancy complications: High blood pressure or diabetes during pregnancy can increase the mother’s long-term risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease.
Family history of heart disease: Women with a family history of heart disease are more likely to get heart disease than men.
Emotional stress and depression: Women are at an increased risk of heart disease than men who suffer emotional stress and depression.

Reducing the Risks

Knowing the risk factors and making lifestyle changes can help reduce the risk of developing heart disease.

Regular blood pressure checks: High blood pressure can lead to heart disease, keeping regular checks on your blood pressure can help seek early intervention.
Quit smoking: Smoking can damage blood vessels and lead to heart disease. Contacting your healthcare provider to seek help for stopping smoking can help reduce the risk of heart disease.
Healthy Lifestyle: Make healthy food and lifestyle choices, limiting alcohol intake.
Regular Exercise: Incorporate regular exercise into your week, aiming for around a minimum of 30 minutes of physical exercise each day.
Manage stress levels: Stress can cause the arteries to tighten, and increase the risk of heart disease, getting plenty of exercises, practicing mindfulness, plenty of sleep, and doing things you enjoy can help reduce stress levels.

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