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A Woman's Heart
Scientists continue to struggle to understand why women have a different experience than their male counterparts when it comes to the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease.
Women respond to the same risk factors differently; for example, there is evidence that having a low HDL ("good" cholesterol) level is more predictive of the development of coronary heart disease (CHD) in women than high LDL ("bad" cholesterol) levels are. CHD death is more frequent in women than in men, often because we are older when we develop heart disease, and there is evidence from the Heart Estrogen Replacement and Women's Health Initiative studies that this is not related to the loss of estrogen at menopause.
A new study sponsored by the National Institute of Health indicates what many women already know; their heart disease is different. Women respond differently to conventional treatments, and have different symptoms, such as shortness of breath and fatigue rather than the chest pain or heaviness that men frequently have.
Now there is evidence that conventional heart disease tests may not identify CHD in women because they often have plaque build-up in the smaller heart vessels, rather than large, readily apparent blockages in the main arteries that are frequently the hallmark of CHD in men. In a current study called Women's Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation, or WISE, researchers have found that as many as 2/3 of women with CHD symptoms will appear to have normal coronary arteries on an angiogram. Of those women 1/2 will have a problem called coronary microvascular syndrome, where they develop evenly coated plaques in the small vessels of their hearts.
Unlike the large blockages that are frequently found in their male counterparts, these women's tiny blockages are not visible during the angiogram. The study's overseer, Dr. Noel Bairey-Merz of Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, reports that this type of arterial disease also appears to cause the blood vessels not to dilate the way they are supposed to, a problem that causes further restriction of blood flow through an already narrowed artery. Blood flow restriction causes a loss of oxygen to the heart muscle, causing the pain known as angina. Microvascular syndrome is primarily a problem for women; only about 20% of men have this type of CHD. Dr. Bairey-Merz points out that scientists are just learning about this syndrome because for many years women were not enrolled in studies.
What should women do who suspect that they have heart disease? If you have had a normal angiogram and continue to have symptoms of concern, talk with your health care provider. Microvascular disease is visible on MRI, and a simple questionnaire, such as the Duke Activity Status Index (DASI), can identify women who are likely to have unidentified microvascular syndrome. The questionnaire asks about the individual's ability to perform certain daily tasks, such as light housework; women who pass an angiogram but who score poorly on the DASI are at increased risk of having a heart attack.
Laurie
Related Topics: Diseases Linked to High Cholesterol, The Baby Boomer Heart
Technorati Tags: women, heartdisease
Women respond to the same risk factors differently; for example, there is evidence that having a low HDL ("good" cholesterol) level is more predictive of the development of coronary heart disease (CHD) in women than high LDL ("bad" cholesterol) levels are. CHD death is more frequent in women than in men, often because we are older when we develop heart disease, and there is evidence from the Heart Estrogen Replacement and Women's Health Initiative studies that this is not related to the loss of estrogen at menopause.
A new study sponsored by the National Institute of Health indicates what many women already know; their heart disease is different. Women respond differently to conventional treatments, and have different symptoms, such as shortness of breath and fatigue rather than the chest pain or heaviness that men frequently have.
Now there is evidence that conventional heart disease tests may not identify CHD in women because they often have plaque build-up in the smaller heart vessels, rather than large, readily apparent blockages in the main arteries that are frequently the hallmark of CHD in men. In a current study called Women's Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation, or WISE, researchers have found that as many as 2/3 of women with CHD symptoms will appear to have normal coronary arteries on an angiogram. Of those women 1/2 will have a problem called coronary microvascular syndrome, where they develop evenly coated plaques in the small vessels of their hearts.
Unlike the large blockages that are frequently found in their male counterparts, these women's tiny blockages are not visible during the angiogram. The study's overseer, Dr. Noel Bairey-Merz of Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, reports that this type of arterial disease also appears to cause the blood vessels not to dilate the way they are supposed to, a problem that causes further restriction of blood flow through an already narrowed artery. Blood flow restriction causes a loss of oxygen to the heart muscle, causing the pain known as angina. Microvascular syndrome is primarily a problem for women; only about 20% of men have this type of CHD. Dr. Bairey-Merz points out that scientists are just learning about this syndrome because for many years women were not enrolled in studies.
What should women do who suspect that they have heart disease? If you have had a normal angiogram and continue to have symptoms of concern, talk with your health care provider. Microvascular disease is visible on MRI, and a simple questionnaire, such as the Duke Activity Status Index (DASI), can identify women who are likely to have unidentified microvascular syndrome. The questionnaire asks about the individual's ability to perform certain daily tasks, such as light housework; women who pass an angiogram but who score poorly on the DASI are at increased risk of having a heart attack.
Laurie
Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos - the trees, the clouds, everything.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Related Topics: Diseases Linked to High Cholesterol, The Baby Boomer Heart
Technorati Tags: women, heartdisease
