Why heart attacks in women are so treacherous
Heart attacks are considered by many as the typical male disease. Not true, say experts. Because both men and women apply to cardiovascular diseases as number one cause of death in Germany. Women are affected although less often and later to a heart attack – you die almost twice as often as men.
The reason: Especially in women of a heart attack, often with so-called nonspecific symptoms noticeable, for example, with shortness of breath, Nausea , and pain in the upper abdomen. The complaints are interpreted incorrectly, and the infarction to be detected late, can have deadly consequences.
What is a heart attack?
A heart attack occurs when a large coronary vessel is suddenly closed. Normally, these vessels supply the heart with oxygen and nutrients. By the vascular closure, the parts of the heart muscle are, however, not sufficient blood supply and die. In the worst case, this can reduce the Capacity of the heart so strong that individual organs are not sufficiently supplied with blood.
The reason for this is that one of the coronary vessels clogged all of a sudden, is usually a blood clot that has formed from calcified deposits in the vessel walls. These deposits are caused by, among other things,
- a high cholesterol level,
- High blood pressure,
- Smoking,
- Diabetes mellitus
- as well as being Overweight.
What are the symptoms that suggest a heart attack?
This is in General difficult to answer, because depending on which coronary vessel is sealed, the symptoms vary. Among the classic signs of a heart attack:
- longer lasting severe pain or strong pressure in the chest
- Pain in the left shoulder, in the left Arm
- Neck pain up to lower jaw
- cold sweat and pallor
- Nausea and vomiting
- Shortness of breath
Approximately one out of every five heart attack, however, remains unnoticed: such A silent heart attack without symptoms usually affects the elderly or diabetics.
In the case of women’s heart run attacks differently
When heart attack, there are large differences between the sexes – this relates to both the risk factors and symptoms, as well as the age.
So we know, for example, that in women, cardio-vascular disease approximately ten years later than men. This is due to the hormones: Until menopause, women are relatively well protected against a heart attack””. With a Lessening of hormone production, the protection decreases, however.
Studies have shown that some of the risk factors in women are harmful to men – such as cigarette Smoking or type 2 Diabetes. Women, under 55, and Smoking, have a seven times higher risk for a heart attack than the same age non-smokers.
Also a pre-eclampsia – a disease that occurs only in pregnancy appears to increase the risk to get in the course of the life of a heart attack.
A further feature relates to the symptoms:
- While heart attacks in men are usually noticeable to make
- are the symptoms in women are often vague and nonspecific.
In women, a heart attack, for example, often with a pressure and tight feeling in the chest instead of the strong pain. Sometimes it also happens that the women only under shortness of breath, Nausea, vomiting, or flu-like symptoms to suffer.
Older women should take these warning signs seriously, and particularly if the symptoms appear suddenly and violently, also to a heart attack think. In the case of suspicion on a heart attack, you should alert you immediately to the emergency services (112)!
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Sources:
Online information of the German heart Foundation e. V.: www.herzstiftung.de (retrieval date: 9.12.2019)
Online information of the Pschyrembel: www.pschyrembel.de (retrieval date: 9.12.2019)
Mozaffarian, D., et al.: Executive Summary: Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2016 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association. Circulation, Vol. 133, Iss. 15, e599 (2016)
Bellamy, L., et al.: Pre-eclampsia and risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer in later life: systematic review and meta-analysis. Bmj, Vol. 335, Iss. 7627, pp. 974-977 (2007)
Last content review: 09.12.2019last Modification: 28.01.2019
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