Medically Reviewed by Anil Om, MD

IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT WOMEN & HEART ATTACKS

• More than 15,000 women younger than 55 are dying from heart disease every year.
• Women 55 years of age and younger stand twice the risk of death from a heart attack than men their age.
• Young women suffering a heart attack not only get to the hospital later than men, but also are more likely to die from a heart attack than men their age.
• Many women, ages 40-60, have the same danger of dying of heart disease as breast cancer.

Which raises the question, why?

“No one with multiple cardiac disease risk factors – including a young woman – is too young to have a heart attack,” says McLeod Cardiologist Anil Om, MD. “While heart disease is thought by many to be a problem for older people, in today’s world many young people have risk factors, such as high blood pressure, diabetes or obesity.”

REASONS WOMEN SUFFER

In exploring reasons for this imbalance in heart attacks, researchers found the following:

• Generally low awareness of heart attack risk factors among the young and women. Of the people with a risk factor, only half considered themselves with increased likelihood of a heart attack.
• Women were found to be less likely to see a primary care physician than men.
• Women were less likely to correctly assess their risk.
• More than half of young people with a risk factor, failed to discuss it with a physician or specialist.
• Women were 16% less likely to be counseled by their personal physician on how they can reduce their risk.

ACTIONS TO TAKE

If you feel you’re having a heart attack, call 911 and take a non-coated aspirin. Don’t wait. Let your woman’s intuition protect you. Women who’ve suffered a heart attack – even though they didn’t know the symptoms – said afterward they thought something serious was wrong.

In some ways, the path to solving this problem is simple: Younger patients, especially women, need more information and education about what to expect with a heart attack and what to do.

The articles below may help you.

Women are Different at Heart

Heart Disease #1 Killer of Women

Unique Heart Risks for Women

Find a Cardiologist near you.

Sources include: McLeod Health, National Institutes of Health, American College of Cardiology, Yale School of Public Health, Women’s Heart Foundation