Cardiovascular diseases are known to be the cause of death mostly in men, but 1 in 3 women die due to heart disease. Considering that the death rate from breast cancer is 1 in 31 women, heart diseases cause 10 times more female deaths.
Cardiovascular diseases occur 10 years later in women than in men, and the risk is especially after menopause. is increasing even more. With menopause, the occurrence of risk factors such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia (increase in blood fats), diabetes, and weight gain also accelerates the formation of heart disease.
Why are coronary artery diseases more common in women during menopause?
Before menopause, women are less likely to suffer from cardiovascular diseases than men. It is believed that the hormone estrogen protects women. However, when women enter menopause, estrogen production in their bodies decreases and the risk of cardiovascular diseases begins and increases at an exponential rate every year. While this risk is one in nine for a forty-five-year-old woman, it increases to one in two for a sixty-five-year-old.
The biggest handicap for women in terms of coronary artery disease is that this disease has been accepted as a male disease for years. is that it is. As women get older, their resistance to heart diseases and stroke decreases with decreasing estrogen levels. While one in five men by the age of sixty encounters coronary heart disease, this rate is found to be 1/17 for women. Over the age of sixty, the risk of developing the disease is equal for both genders. Coronary artery disease is an important health problem for women in the post-menopausal period. It accounts for 25% of deaths during this period. The most important risk factor for coronary artery disease in women is hypertension. Hypertension, which occurs with age in women, is seen in 80 percent of women over the age of seventy. Diabetes also increases the risk of coronary artery disease in women by 3 times.
Does the use of hormones to delay menopause reduce the risk of heart disease after menopause in women?
Menopause and estrogen deficiency increase LDL cholesterol levels, which are risk factors for coronary artery disease, and reduce HDL cholesterol levels. Studies testing whether postmenopausal hormone therapy protects against heart disease have yielded conflicting results. Although these studies did not show a definite protective effect against heart diseases, the negative situation in the short-term follow-up results was replaced by a positive impression with the publication of longer follow-up results. However, hormone use is not appropriate for those with a history of unexplained vaginal bleeding, uterine cancer and breast cancer.
Does the estrogen hormone really protect women?
Unfortunately, women are less aware of their risk factors than men. . Complaints of heart disease are more vague in women than in men, so they are not very stimulating. While men mostly complain of chest pain, women start with more general complaints such as fatigue and shortness of breath. Thus, many women do not dwell on these complaints and go to the doctor later, after the disease progresses.
Tests used in the diagnosis of heart diseases are applied less frequently in women and give more misleading results. For this reason, the rate of early diagnosis is lower than in men. It is known that at least 80% of cardiovascular diseases develop due to classic risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, high blood lipids, family predisposition to heart disease, obesity, sedentary lifestyle and diabetes. Therefore, it is known that if these risk factors are reduced, the rate of death and disability due to cardiovascular diseases can be reduced by 80 - 90%. To understand the relationship between women and heart disease, it would be enlightening to look at how these risk factors are found in the female gender.
Heart disease risk factors in women!
Smoking:As women take a more active role in working life, cigarette consumption has also increased. Smoking is the most important preventable risk factor for cardiovascular disease. So much so that women who smoke 1 to 4 cigarettes a day have no Compared to non-smoking women, the risk increases twice as much in smokers. Women have more difficulty quitting smoking than men due to anxiety about gaining weight.
Hypertension:Research abroad shows that hypertension is more common in men than in women. However, in our country, hypertension develops more frequently in women than in men in almost every age group. The most important reason for this is the higher prevalence of obesity in women in Turkey and the resulting diseases such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes and insulin resistance. All of these diseases play an important role in the formation of hypertension and the deterioration of blood lipids. Especially a sedentary lifestyle and lack of exercise habits are the most important reasons for weight gain and hypertension.
Hypertension that starts during pregnancy is also of particular importance for women. Women with a history of hypertension that began during pregnancy have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than those without. For this reason, it is recommended that women with high blood pressure during pregnancy be kept under closer monitoring after birth.
Increased blood fats: In a healthy middle-aged woman, cholesterol is over 200 mg/dl. Having HDL, which is benign cholesterol, below 50 mg/dl increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. HDL cholesterol is found in higher amounts in women than men due to the estrogen hormone and is therefore more protective. However, weight gain, sedentary lifestyle and increased cigarette consumption are the main enemies of HDL cholesterol. In order to keep the malignant LDL cholesterol, which is responsible for vascular occlusion, at a low level, it is not enough to just be careful about eating and drinking. In order to keep LDL cholesterol low, regular physical activity is also necessary. An average of 1 hour of brisk walking is required at least 3 days a week. Research recommends that LDL cholesterol level should be below 130 mg/dl in women at risk for protection from heart diseases.
Obesity and sedentary life:In our country, 46.6% of women over the age of 40 are obese. falls within its scope. 2/3 of the same group of women do little or little physical activity. is flowing. Being overweight increases the risk of diabetes by 3 times, and the prevalence of diabetes is higher in women than men in our country. Diabetes increases the risk of cardiovascular disease by 2 to 3 times in men and by 3 to 7 times in women. The risk of developing postpartum diabetes increases 21 times in women whose fasting blood sugar level is 121 mg/dl or above during pregnancy. For this reason, it is very important to lose the weight gained after birth within 6 to 12 months with diet and exercise.
For what reasons do heart diseases occur in women?
The risk of heart attack in women increases as menopause approaches, and this increase continues as age progresses. Studies have found that postmenopausal women have higher blood cholesterol levels. Researchers think that the changes in women's bodies may be due to the effects of menopause, including aging, weight gain and low estrogen hormone levels. As women get older, mortality due to cardiovascular diseases increases, especially in the postmenopausal period. There are differences between the two genders in terms of clinical symptomatology of coronary artery disease, epidemiology, risk factor prevalence, response to diagnostic methods and interventions. There are also diseases that are only seen in women or whose severity increases during pregnancy. Gestational hypertension and gestational cardiomyopathy are two examples.
Why are cardiovascular diseases more common in women!
It is diagnosed at a later stage because the symptoms start with milder symptoms.
Intended to investigate the disease in women. The tests performed give more misleading results than in men.
Risk factors in women increase the risk of disease more than in men.
Heart Women with vascular disease die more than men.
Cardiovascular disease is a disease that progresses very slowly and insidiously. It should not be forgotten that the most important method of preventing the disease is the control of risk factors.
When should I suspect heart disease?
Cardiovascular occlusion is very subtle and can sometimes even appear with a heart attack as the first symptom, but if you have the following findings, be sure to have your heart checked.
I can no longer comfortably walk the distances I used to walk, I get short of breath and get tired easily.
While walking, I experience a burning sensation in my chest or a feeling of pressure in my chest.
I have difficulty walking on a full stomach or with a load in my hand.
I experience pain, burning or strain in my chest when walking fast, going uphill or against the wind.
I experience heaviness and numbness in my left arm while walking. I'm tired.
Which risk factors pose a danger for cardiovascular diseases in women?
strong>Overweight, smoking and high blood pressure are at very high rates among women in Turkish society. Obesity is a significant threat to women's health. Waist circumference, one of the most important indicators of obesity, increases in women in their forties and reaches its highest values in their sixties. 72% of Turkish women in this age group have overweight waist circumference. Lifestyle changes and nutritional habits are very important in treatment. Considering that the problem of excess weight in women becomes evident with menopause, preventive lifestyle habits such as regular exercise, low-calorie nutrition and avoiding smoking become important for women in the pre-menopausal period.
Heart attack and intravascular clot formation in women before the age of forty. arises as a result. This situation; It is thought to occur with smoking, birth control pill use, depression, stress and anxiety. While 25% of women between the ages of 20-40 smoke, this rate decreases to 8% from the age of 50.
Can you give information about the treatment of coronary artery disease in women? ?
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