Woman’s heart is at greater risk

Changing lifestyle, stress and a poor metabolic profile are making young and middle-aged women worldwide more prone to heart attacks, according to two American studies.
However, women, especially those younger than 55 who are protected by hormones, also have greater chances of survival after a heart attack compared to men, say the studies published in the latest issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, a Journal of American Medical Association publication.

India, with consistently poor metabolic profiles among urban and rural women above 35 and rising obesity, needs to be on guard, another study says.

Middle-aged women historically had a lower overall risk of heart events compared to men of a similar age, but that is changing. “Although men in their midlife years continue to have a higher prevalence of myocardial infarction (heart attack) and a higher 10-year risk of hard coronary heart disease than women of similar age, our study suggests that the risk is increasing in women, while decreasing in men,’’ the authors said, calling for intensification of efforts at screening for and treating vascular risk factors in women in their midlife years.
“Men are still believed to be at greater risk and are thus more aggressively informed, counselled and treated for these diseases,” wrote the experts.

They added that vigorous attention to the prevention of cardiovascular risk factors — by healthy diet, regular physical activity and avoiding smoking — is necessary for both men and women.

A similar multi-centric study conducted recently under the department of science and technology on women above 35 years age found Indian women have worse metabolic profiles consistently in both rural and urban areas. Low life expectancy among Indian women is a systemic problem. But while “previously it was due to complications of pregnancy and delivery, and infections, now these are combined with rising diabetes, hypertension and heart disease,’’ said Dr Anoop Misra, head of department of diabetes and metabolic diseases, Fortis Hospitals, New Delhi, and former professor of internal medicine in AIIMS.

 “Increasingly, underprivileged women, and those living in rural areas are being affected. These women are clearly unaware of their health problems and complications and cannot afford treatment,” said Misra.

For the JAMA study, experts from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, analysed data of American adults between 35-54 years from 1988-1994 and 1999-2004.

In the same journal, another report by Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, experts found that in-hospital death rates had decreased more markedly in women than in men. The reduced risk of death was largest in women younger than 55 years (a 52.9% reduction) and lowest in men of the same age (33.3%). “Such improvement may be due to better recognition and management of coronary heart disease and its risk factors in women before the acute myocardial infarction event,” the authors wrote.