PCL 10 – Fred goes to the Doctor
Gender differences in Heart Disease
Amber Hartley
Both men and women are affected by heart disease, although general misperceptions often lead people to believe that women do not develop heart disease, or at a much lower risk than men. Many women have atypical symptoms of heart attack, which leads to lowered community knowledge about risk factors.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Australia. In general, the incidence of coronary heart disease is higher in men than in premenopausal women. After menopause, however, the incidence of atherosclerosis in women approaches the incidence in men. The cause of this change may be decreased levels of oestrogen present in the post-menopausal woman.
Women often have differing symptoms of myocardial infarction to men, which can be dangerous as women do not recognise the symptoms and are less likely to seek treatment. Aside from the classical symptoms of myocardial infarct, including chest pain, pain that spreads to the shoulders, neck or arms, shortness of breath, and tightness of the chest, women may experience unexplained fatigue, nausea, profound sweating, pain in the upper abdomen and dyspnea. Women generally have poorer survival rates of myocardial infarction than men do.
The normal heart of men and women also differs, with women’s hearts beating faster than men’s, even during sleep. Some women may have myocardial infarct even without any of the fatty build-up of plaque (atherosclerosis) seen in coronary heart disease, and this indicates that the physiology of the heart differs in men and women.
In 1995 in Australia, 80% of men, and 75% of women had at least one of the recognised cardiovascular risk factors (tobacco smoking, physical inactivity, hypertension, overweight).
Men are twice as likely to have a coronary event as women, and more likely to die from a coronary event at a younger age than women. This may be associated with higher rates of obesity in males, higher rates of smoking in males or other lifestyle factors, or it may have a physiological basis. Women tend to develop heart disease at a later age than men, but more likely (1.7 times) to die than men. This reflects overall differences in life expectancy between men and women.
Figure 1: Cardiovascular risk prediction charts for women.
Gender differences in Heart Disease
Amber Hartley
Both men and women are affected by heart disease, although general misperceptions often lead people to believe that women do not develop heart disease, or at a much lower risk than men. Many women have atypical symptoms of heart attack, which leads to lowered community knowledge about risk factors.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Australia. In general, the incidence of coronary heart disease is higher in men than in premenopausal women. After menopause, however, the incidence of atherosclerosis in women approaches the incidence in men. The cause of this change may be decreased levels of oestrogen present in the post-menopausal woman.
Women often have differing symptoms of myocardial infarction to men, which can be dangerous as women do not recognise the symptoms and are less likely to seek treatment. Aside from the classical symptoms of myocardial infarct, including chest pain, pain that spreads to the shoulders, neck or arms, shortness of breath, and tightness of the chest, women may experience unexplained fatigue, nausea, profound sweating, pain in the upper abdomen and dyspnea. Women generally have poorer survival rates of myocardial infarction than men do.
The normal heart of men and women also differs, with women’s hearts beating faster than men’s, even during sleep. Some women may have myocardial infarct even without any of the fatty build-up of plaque (atherosclerosis) seen in coronary heart disease, and this indicates that the physiology of the heart differs in men and women.
In 1995 in Australia, 80% of men, and 75% of women had at least one of the recognised cardiovascular risk factors (tobacco smoking, physical inactivity, hypertension, overweight).
Men are twice as likely to have a coronary event as women, and more likely to die from a coronary event at a younger age than women. This may be associated with higher rates of obesity in males, higher rates of smoking in males or other lifestyle factors, or it may have a physiological basis. Women tend to develop heart disease at a later age than men, but more likely (1.7 times) to die than men. This reflects overall differences in life expectancy between men and women.
Figure 1: Cardiovascular risk prediction charts for women.
Figure 2: Cardiovascular risk prediction charts for men
References:
No comments:
Post a Comment