Despite cancer having made it to the number one cause of death slot in US citizens in about 22 states, heart disease is still the number one killer. And in an attempt to prevent as many heart disease deaths as possible, the American Heart Association issued some warnings. As it turns out according to medical experts, heart attacks manifest differently for women.
- Heart disease is still the number one cause of death in the United States
- Black and Hispanic women are more at risk of fatal heart attacks than white women
- Around 6.6 million American women suffer from coronary heart disease
- A young woman with diabetes is 4-5 times more likely to have a heart attack than a young man with diabetes
- Depression is an often overlooked heart attack high risk factor
- Women also have greater difficulties in having their blood flow restored after a heart attack
This public service announcement was sent out by the American Heart Association, as they became concerned regarding the most recent statistics about heart attacks in women.
Heart attack symptoms and behaviors are generally different for women than they are for men, and according to the AHA most of the at risk women and their physicians don’t seem to acknowledge that.
Instead of the usual arm or chest pain generally associated with heart attacks in men, women will often experience a different array of symptoms, like back pain, jaw pain, nausea, shortness of breath, and vomiting.
Generally, there will be some discomfort in the chest area, but it can also manifest in the neck, back, jaw, arms or shoulder, and even stomach. The main problem is that it may not feel like what the heart attack victim expects it to feel.
The way heart attacks manifest isn’t the only way heart attacks are different for women.
Not only are they more at risk if they suffer from any of the at risk factors, like diabetes, or being overweight, but the attack also manifests differently and has a harder time being fixed.
Because women suffer more damage to their coronary arteries, as well as because women that develop heart attacks seem to have more blood vessel issues, both the rates of recovery and those of proper treatment decrease drastically, especially in ethnic women – black and Hispanic, to be more exact.
This being more a PSA than a study, the AHA wanted once again to stress the importance of openly talking to your doctor, as well as that of proper monitoring of your risk factors and health status, as a single instance of overlooking something can turn out to be fatal.
Image source: FreeStockPhotos.biz
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