Women's Heart Disease

02/12/2012

February is the American Medical Association’s Heart Month. It’s a time for all of us in the medical profession and those operating certain causes to raise the awareness of heart disease and – hopefully – raise some money for research.

I’d like to take a slice of this awareness and drill down to a particular area that probably needs more attention than it gets – heart disease in women.

It doesn’t seem that there is a single chapter in any medical book that deals directly, and in a meaningful way, with heart disease for women. The subject holds particular importance to me in that it is a subject that has touched my life directly. On December 29th, 2007, my wife came down with what we thought was the flu. The next thing we know – she had a heart attack, and she was only 47 years old.

It changed our lives forever. She is fine now, but it has greatly affected us and has led she and I to make a specific effort to make the public more aware of heart disease in women.

And I am grateful for all the attention that is placed on breast cancer and ovarian cancer – because those are very important areas where a great amount of attention is needed. But what a lot of people tend to forget is that the number one killer for women in all developed countries is in fact heart disease. (Breast cancer #2, strokes #3.)

Women present with heart disease differently than men do. They don’t present with obesity, and they don’t present with chest pain.

Women present with fatigue. Which is scary – because how many of us are tired? Being fatigued doesn’t make a person think they are having heart complications. More than likely, you’ll point to work stress or lack of sleep. But in women, this is a sign of oncoming heart disease. In these cases, blood pressure changes – and it may not be getting checked.

Women will gain weight rapidly. This is a scary sign as well, since many people gain weight naturally as they get older – so it can be hidden. Don’t ignore rapid weight gains.

If you haven’t had a checkup, there are specific blood tests that we can run that will give us tips to help us assess and strategize where you are with your heart. Particularly if you are starting an exercise program, or you are anticipating starting a Spring exercise program. Of course, I recommend you get checked up on by your doctor.

For more information on women’s heart disease, there’s a good website with information and how you can get involved: www.goredforwomen.com 

Be Well,

Dr. R