Heart Disease is still the number one killer of women yet only 55% of women know that which is more than in the past but still not enough.
Worse still, the standard test misses heart disease signs in women because angiograms don't find the blockages in smaller vessels that women tend to have.
The Washington Post reports in A Gender Difference in Heart Disease
Instead of developing obvious blockages in the arteries supplying blood to the heart, these women accumulate plaque more evenly inside the major arteries and in smaller blood vessels, the researchers found. In other cases, their arteries fail to expand properly or go into spasm, often at times of physical or emotional stress.
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As many as 3 million U.S. women may suffer from the condition, they said.
"We're realizing that this may be fairly common among women," said George Sopko of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, which is funding the research. "This is a big deal. This is changing our thinking about heart disease in many women."
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The study has also begun to identify new ways to identify women with the condition. A relatively simple questionnaire that gauges their ability to perform daily activities, for example, appears highly useful for identifying women with the condition who are at risk for suffering a heart attack or death, the researchers reported.
While it remains unclear how best to treat the condition, research suggests that certain drugs, such as those that reduce inflammation, may be useful.
Dr.Helen, a runner and a weight trainer, tells More Than You Wanted to Know About My Heart Attack at 37
Posted by Jill Fallon at February 1, 2006 3:45 PM | Permalink