Ask the Doctor: Women Becoming More Aware of Heart Disease

Dear Dr. Sangani:

I have been hearing about women and heart disease in the media lately. Why is that? Has something changed?

_ Worried Woman

Dear Worried Woman:

First of all, nothing has changed as far as the disease process. What has changed is our awareness. For decades, we had believed that heart disease was heavily weighed in favor of male gender and that false sense of security may have helped us pay less attention to heart disease and women. Now, we are finding out that heart disease may have a bigger role to play in women and the recent media highlight is trying to bring that awareness to the general public. Now, let us understand the relationship between heart disease and women.

Q: How common is heart disease in women?

A: Heart disease is the leading cause of death in American women and kills 32 percent of them. Eight million American women have been diagnosed with heart disease and 435,000 American women have heart attacks each year. 267,000 women die each year from heart attacks, which kill six times as many women as breast cancer.

Q: Are these statistics different in women and men?

A: Thirty-eight percent of women and 25 percent of men will die within one year of a heart attack. Thirty-five percent of female and 18 percent of male heart attack survivors will have another heart attack within six years. Forty six percent of female and 22 percent of male heart attack survivors will be disabled with heart failure within six years.

Q: What is the difference between heart disease and heart attack?

A: Heart disease is any disorder affecting the heart’s ability to function normally. There are many disorders that affect the heart and include blockage of the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart _ congenital heart disease, abnormal function of the heart valves, abnormal electrical rhythm of the heart, endocarditis, heart attack, heart failure, angina and many more. A heart attack is when an area of the heart muscle dies and is permanently damaged because of an inadequate supply of oxygen to that area.

Q: What are the signs of heart attack?

A: Heart attacks can start slowly with mild chest pain or discomfort or it may occur suddenly. You may have chest discomfort in the center of the chest lasting for few minutes and it goes and comes. It may feel like pressure, squeezing, or fullness in the chest. Some patients have discomfort in the arms, back, neck, jaw or stomach. You may experience shortness of breath without chest discomfort. Other signs are cold sweat, nausea, vomiting or dizziness.

Q: How can heart disease be prevented?

A: The major controllable risk factors for heart disease are smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, exercise, overweight and diabetes. Women who smoke increase the risk of having a heart attack by 19 years earlier than nonsmoking women.

Lower cholesterol by lowering your intake of food high in cholesterol and eating fewer calories per day. Women with diabetes are two to three times more likely to have heart attacks. If you are a diabetic, routine visits to your physician are mandatory. It is reported that 39 percent of white women, 57 percent of black women, 57 percent of Hispanic women and 49 percent Asian/Pacific Islander women are sedentary and get no physical activity. Physical activity and exercise increase your metabolic rate, burns calories, and this will help to lose weight, lower blood pressure and cholesterol.

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Submit questions to Dr. Bharat Sangani at bsangani@encore.bz or 5601 Sound Bluff Road, Ocean Springs, MS 39564. Sangani also would like to hear from physicians interested in contributing to this column.

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(c) 2006, The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.).

Visit The Sun Herald Online at http://www.sunherald.com/

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

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