Heart Disease: What Every Woman Should Know
Should women be worried about heart disease? In a word: yes.

Every time you take a breath or step—you have your heart to thank. This muscular organ plays some part in every function in women’s bodies, yet many women disregard or ignore the symptoms of heart disease until it’s too late, when they experience a heart attack.

When most people think of a heart attack, they envision a person falling to the ground, clutching his or her chest in pain. However, many do not know that the symptoms of a heart attack may present differently. Atypical symptoms of a heart attack are more common in women than men. These include unexplained shortness of breath, nausea, and abdominal discomfort, which may be accompanied by pain in the back, neck, or jaw.

“While women may not always experience the same heart attack symptoms as men, they are just as at risk for heart attack as men,” says Jacqueline Hollywood, MD, Cardiologist at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center and spokesperson for the American Heart Association. “Cardiovascular risk not only increases a woman’s chance for heart attack, but increased blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, smoking, and diabetes also increase odds of developing peripheral vascular disease and stroke.”

The Facts Explained

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), cardiovascular disease is the leading health threat facing women today, claiming the lives of close to 460,000 women each year, including nearly 14,000 women in New Jersey. However, women do not perceive heart disease as their major health threat, and many still fear cancer most.  

Heart disease also contributes to more deaths in women than men each year. Experts believe a gender gap in diagnosing and treating heart disease in women still exists. Among the reasons for this gap are that women are screened for heart disease less aggressively than men, evaluation and treatment of cardiovascular disease may be delayed, and women historically have been under-represented in heart disease clinical trials.

What Can Women Do?

Women of all ages should work with their physicians to assess their risks for heart disease. Through regular screenings and tests for levels of blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood glucose for diabetes, a woman can become aware of any of indicators she may have that relate to heart disease.  Next, she can take lifestyle steps, such as quitting smoking or losing weight, to improve her heart’s health.

“Cardiologists at Englewood Hospital work with each patient to determine the best ways she can prevent or treat heart disease,” Dr. Hollywood says. “We are all at risk, and keeping our hearts healthy is a life-long commitment.

For more information about cardiology and cardiac diagnostic services at Englewood Hospital, visit EnglewoodHospital.com .