Thursday 02 / May / 2024
1. Is heart disease more or less common in women?
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women. Though the incidence of heart attacks in women is lower than in men, it increases dramatically after menopause.
2. Why heart disease is more common in post-menopausal women?
Heart disease is unusual in premenopausal women particularly in the absence of other risk factors. However, multiple studies conducted world over, showed an increased risk of cardiovascular disease if woman were to achieve menopause (naturally or surgically) before 40 years of age.
3. Are symptoms of heart attacks different in women?
No not really.. Chest pain or feeling of tightness or heaviness or breathlessness are in fact the most common anginal symptoms shared among both the genders.
4. What are the common tests women should do to get heart disease diagnosed?
In general, tests that are normally done to identify heart disease in men tend to be less useful in women due to various reasons including a lower exercise capacity, artifacts due to breast tissue etc. So we need to resort to investigations like stress echocardiography or even a CT coronary angiography (except young women) to diagnose heart disease (especially coronary artery disease) in women.
5. Is angina with coronary artery disease (CAD) more common in women?
Angina in CAD in women is more often due to disease involving the smaller arteries also called "microvascular disease," unlike men wherein it is usually due to main vessel blockages.
6. Is preeclampsia a risk factor for future CAD?
Women who develop preeclampsia during pregnancy have a twofold or greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease later in life. A similar increase in risk is also seen with women who develop gestational diabetes.
7. Is response to the treatment of heart disease different in women?
Yes definitely. Women generally tend to have worse outcomes than men of similar age. This difference is primarily because women do not identify their initial symptoms as an expression of heart disease and therefore don't seek medical advice promptly which in turn leads to delayed identification of disease.
8. What is the role of HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) in the prevention of heart disease in women?
According to the " Women's Health Initiative," a combined hormone therapy is associated with a significant increase in the risk of cardiovascular events, including heart attack, stroke, venous thromboembolism and in fact even breast cancer! Currently, there is no role of HRT in the prevention of heart disease.
9. What is the ideal weight for reducing the risk of heart disease in women?
A target BMI of less than 25kg/m2 and a waist circumference of less than 35 inches in general is recommended to reduce the risk of heart disease in women.
10. How women can prevent heart disease?
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle with good diet, regular exercise, appropriate management of special risk factors like diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia can help prevent or rather postpone the occurrence of heart disease. Periodic cardiovascular risk assessment once every 3 to 5 years beginning at 20 years of age and seeking medical advice early, are all crucial to identify heart disease at a much earlier stage.
About the Department of Cardiology @ NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ghoubra
The Department of Cardiology of NMC Specialty Hospital - Ghoubra considers as one of the best, and state of the art cardiac care facility in Oman. Supported by the newest in technology, our exceptional team of cardiologists provides world-class interventional and preventive cardiology services including management of irregular heartbeats, blocks, and valve disorders.
Offering service 24/7, we also provide ambulatory systems for emergencies along with non-invasive image processing, echocardiography, stress tests, cardiovascular CT among many others.
Services Offered:
Non- invasive Services: ECG, Stress Test, Echo Doppler, Stress Doppler, Trans-esophageal Echo Doppler, 24-hours Holter Monitoring, 24-hours Blood Pressure Monitoring, 64 S VCT – for Diagnostic Cardiac Screening, Preventive Cardiac Health Screening
Invasive Services: All coronary angiographies and angioplasties are done through radial root and the patient is discharged on the same day - Coronary Angiography, Coronary Angioplasty, Primary Coronary Angioplasty
