A Woman''s Greatest Health Risk
Ask women what their greatest health risk is and they''ll probably say cancer. Polls indicate women are more likely to say breast cancer is their greatest health risk – they are wrong
Statistics indicate a woman''s risk of breast cancer is trivial compared to their risk of heart disease. Forty-three percent of deaths in American women are due to cardiovascular disease leaving women six times more likely to die of a heart attack than breast cancer. And a 2003 study by the American Heart Association found only 13 percent of women felt heart disease was their biggest health threat.
Jennifer Lawton, MD, Washington University cardiac surgeon at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, says lack of awareness can be deadly, "People do not appreciate that cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women in this country and women are much more likely to die of heart disease than they are of breast cancer or all cancers combined."
While no one would argue the importance of cancer screening, that same urgency doesn''t always apply to heart disease.
"People think of getting their mammogram to prevent breast cancer, yet they might not take chest pain as seriously," says Jane Chen, MD, Washington University electrophysiologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
Dr. Lawton and Dr. Chen say it''s important to know heart attacks in women actually feel different than they do in men.
"Oftentimes women do not present with the same symptoms that men do and therefore they are not diagnosed with heart disease early on," says Dr. Lawton. "Women typically don''t have the same symptoms that we think of as a classic heart attack – those would be crushing chest pain, shortness of breath – and women often present with symptoms such as heartburn, fatigue or nausea and therefore they don''t think they''re having a heart attack."
Dr. Lawton says women can reduce their risk of heart attack -- even if they''ve already been diagnosed with heart disease – by following five key steps:
- Stop smoking
- Lower high blood pressure
- Lower cholesterol
- Aim for a healthy weight
- Be physically active each day
"In women it''s important to stress risk factors and lifestyle modification," says Dr. Lawton. "We don''t exactly know why more women die from heart attacks, so we need to focus on prevention of the disease and focus on the risk factors. Also, we need to urge women to ask questions when they go to their doctors about heart disease and their symptoms."
Dr. Chen agrees, "The level of awareness needs to be raised not only for the patients, but the patient''s family and they need to be aware that assessing heart disease is just as important as an annual mammogram."
They add efforts like the Heart Association''s "Go Red For Women" campaign have gone a long way in recent years of raising awareness. For more information about heart disease, or for a free heart health kit, call toll free at 314-TOP-DOCS (314-867-3627) or toll free 1-866-867-3627.