YRMC event puts focus on heart disease in women
Many people may not know that the warning signs and symptoms of a heart attack in women differ from those for men.
Consequently, heart attacks can go unrecognized up to 54 percent of the time in women.
As part of an effort to spread awareness of heart disease in women, Yuma Regional Medical Center hosted the “Go Red Girlfriends: Women and Heart Disease” on Thursday night at The Patio Restaurant at the Hills.
Attendees were treated to wine and appetizers as they listened to a presentation by Preeti Chandra, preventive cardiologist at YRMC.
“I think this is a very unaddressed issue of women’s health,” Chandra said. “Women’s health typically revolves around breast cancer prevention and other non-cardiac ailments, but few women know (that) one in four women will die of heart disease and it’s highly preventable. Not knowing how it presents and not knowing what they can do to get their health in order and what are the preventable risk factors — that’s what I feel is the reason.”
“I feel strongly and passionately about just spreading awareness and getting the right knowledge to the all the women in our community that will help them feel empowered about their own heart health,” she added. The cardiologist stressed that women younger than 50 who suffer from a heart attack are 50 percent more likely to die than men. Additionally, 42 percent of women who have heart attacks die within one year, compared with 24 percent of men.
“It’s mainly because their symptoms are different from men and they are less recognized,” Chandra said. “Many times physicians are dismissive about their symptoms and women themselves don’t acknowledge their symptoms and seek help at the right time.”
More women die form heart disease in the U.S. than from breast cancer, but women are much more aware of the latter disease, Chandra noted at the start of her presentation. The cardiologist said that while one in 30 women die from breast cancer, one in four will die from heart disease, which can include heart attack, arrhythmia, heart failure and stroke.
A heart attack occurs when a clot completely blocks the coronary artery. As a result, all muscle tissue below the blockage can die.
Symptoms of heart attack in women can include chest pain or discomfort, upper back pain, cold sweat, indigestion, heartburn, nausea/ vomiting, extreme fatigue, upper body discomfort and shortness of breath.
Signs of arrhythmia, or improper beating of the heart in women can include fluttering feelings in the chest (palpitations). Warning signs of heart failure in women can include shortness of breath, fatigue, swelling of the feet, ankles, legs and abdomen.
A stroke is a disabling attack or loss of consciousness caused by the interruption of blood flow to the brain.
Symptoms of a stroke in women can include sudden weakness, paralysis (inability to move) or numbness of the face/arms/legs, especially on one side of the body. Other symptoms can include confusion, trouble speaking or understanding speech, difficulty seeing in one or both eyes, shortness of breath, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination, loss of consciousness, or sudden and severe headache.
Symptoms of heart disease can also be atypical in women, Chandra noted. She added that blockages in women are not focal as they are in men, meaning they can be present in different locations.
In addition, she noted that the various blockages can be incomplete in women, meaning that they do not cause a complete blockage. She stresses that symptoms of heart disease in women are not as pronounced, so she advised that it is vital to become educated on the subject and be aware of warnings signs and risk factors.
Risk factors of heart disease can include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, being overweight/ obese, a poor diet, physical inactivity and excessive alcohol use.
“For all the women, I am going to say, make sure you have your high blood pressure under control, make sure diabetes is under control. If you are smoker, quit smoking. If you have no activity, aim to do something for 25 minutes a day five days a week and don’t consume excessive alcohol,” Chandra said. “Just be very cognizant and mindful about your own body and if you see any decrease in exercise tolerance or subtle symptoms that you ordinarily don’t feel — heaviness in the jaw, right shoulder pain, feeling pain in your chest after your eat — then don’t attribute it to non-cardiac causes all the time.”
“Make sure you address it in a timely manner,” she added. “If you have chest pain or more concerning symptoms then act quickly so that we can save muscle and make sure that you heart remains healthy.”
For more information on heart care and services at YRMC, visit yumaregional. org/heartcare or call (928) 336-7055.