Dr Sarah Jarvis
My Weekly’s favourite GP from TV and radio writes for you
Death rates from heart disease are dropping, but cardiovascular disease still kills more Britons than any other condition. While women may be at lower risk, they’re by no means immune.
The good news is that, in 1961 there were 166,000 deaths from heart disease in the UK. Today that’s dropped to 66,000, but there’s no room for complacency. The number of folk alive who’ve suffered a heart attack is higher today than 60 years ago – largely down to improved survival rates.
Heart attack rates in Scotland remain stubbornly 30-40% higher than in England, and heart disease kills more than twice as many women as breast cancer.
Doctors traditionally target men where heart disease is concerned, and there’s no doubt they are at higher risk. But while 1 in 7 UK men die from heart attack, so do 1 in 12 women. There’s evidence that women have a worse outcome when they do have a heart attack, partly because they’re less likely to get the classic crushing central chest pain, which means they may not seek help as quickly.
Huge advances in clotbusting drugs and emergency surgery means doctors can limit the damage caused by heart attack by restoring blood flow, but there’s a very limited time window and every minute counts.
Although your heart is constantly full of blood, it needs a separate blood supply to provide vital oxygen to the heart muscle. That blood travels through the coronary arteries. A heart attack is where one of the coronary
IN THE 1960S, OVER 7 IN 10 PEOPLE DIED FROM A HEART ATTACK – TODAY, AT LEAST 7 IN 10 SURVIVE – BUT TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE TO SEEK HELP!
arteries becomes blocked, cutting off blood. Angina is when one of those arteries is narrowed, usually through furring up of the arteries. There may be enough blood when you’re resting, but as your heart works harder with exercise, it needs more blood and oxygen. If it can’t get it because an artery is partly blocked, the result is chest pain – angina.
When we think of a heart attack, we tend to think of collapsing with severe chest pain, but pain can also go to your shoulder, neck or one arm. And 2 in 5 women don’t have severe pain, even when having a heart attack. They’re more likely to have atypical symptoms including mild chest discomfort. Men are more likely to become very sweaty; women have a higher chance of feeling breathless. Women are twice as likely as men to experience indigestion-like symptoms, or feeling or being sick. Other atypical symptoms include weakness, extreme tiredness, dizziness and neck or jaw or back pain.
Symptoms of angina are similar, but less severe. You should view unexplained or new dizziness, breathlessness and tiredness with suspicion. In particular, chest discomfort may come on with exercise but settle within a few minutes of rest.
There are also less worrying causes for these symptoms, including indigestion causing pain rising behind your breastbone, low blood pressure, underactive thyroid, being generally unfit, or anaemia. But you won’t know unless you get checked.
We all know the risk factors for angina, and the huge strides we’ve made as a nation to quit smoking plays a big part in dropping death rates. Keeping weight down, regular exercise, and a heart-healthy diet play a major role in keeping your heart ticking along nicely. Next week: Happy with your face?
RAISED BLOOD PRESSURE IS A MAJOR RISK FACTOR FOR HEART ATTACK AND STROKE – GETTING IT DIAGNOSED AND TREATED CUTS YOUR RISK DRAMATICALLY.