February is American Heart Month, and there's a lot of must-know information when it comes to heart disease. For women, knowing that information is crucial. Despite stereotypes about older men being more likely to suffer heart problems, heart disease is actually the No. 1 killer of women in the United States. One in three women's deaths are attributed to heart disease each year.
There are a lot of misconceptions out there, so it's important to get the facts straight. The American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women movement advocates for more research and swifter action for women’s heart health. That goes for all women, as heart disease has different signs and symptoms for women of all backgrounds, and those differ greatly from the signs in men.
"While earning my PhD in nursing — I discovered there were essentially no research studies focusing only on women," shares Jean McSweeney, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN, and a local volunteer expert for the American Heart Association in Little Rock. "We assumed women would mimic men. I ran into many roadblocks along the way trying to conduct studies on women, but it was the American Heart Association that helped support my research. It was that early financial support that helped pave the way for my research — and therefore shed a light on the presentation and impact of cardiovascular disease on women."
"My ensuing studies identified that a few women’s symptoms of a heart attack may be similar to those experienced by men, but the majority had different early warning symptoms and symptoms experienced during the actual heart attack," she notes. "If the American Heart Association had not funded this initial study that only included women, the health profession might still be unaware of the major symptoms women experience."
1. Heart disease and stroke cause 1 in 3 deaths among women each year.
This is the most important figure to keep in mind. For context, that's more deaths than all cancer types are responsible for, combined. Awareness can go a long way, though, since 80% of cardiac and stroke events can be prevented.
2. Women's symptoms are different from men's.
Men and women share the same major symptom: chest discomfort. Other symptoms women are more likely to experience are shortness of breath, nausea or vomiting, and back or jaw pain.
"Women’s death rates associated with heart disease remain troubling but are improving," notes heart health expert Jean McSweeney.
"Identification of women’s symptoms by my studies and those of other researchers allow early recognition and treatment of this deadly disease and contribute to the declining death rates. Funding of women-centric studies remains extremely important in order to continue to improve cardiovascular health in women."
3. Stroke symptoms differ from heart attack symptoms.
Stroke symptoms come on suddenly and shouldn't be ignored. Women might experience numbness or weakness in their face, arm, leg, or one side of the body; confusion and trouble speaking or understanding; trouble seeing or blurred vision in one or both eyes; trouble walking, dizziness, or loss of balance or coordination; and severe headache with no known cause.
4. Ignoring symptoms can be extremely dangerous.
"Studies show women having heart attacks wait more than 30% longer than men from the moment they begin experiencing symptoms to the time they arrive at a hospital," notes Suzanne Steinbaum, DO, a preventive cardiologist from New York and a national Go Red for Women volunteer. It's always better to be safe than sorry. If you experience any of these symptoms, call your doctor at the very least.
5. You may have to advocate for yourself.
"Once there, [women] experience a 20% longer wait time than men," Dr. Steinbaum says. She urges women to speak authoritatively when getting medical attention.
"If they say things like ‘I’m short of breath’ or ‘I’m nauseous,’ they may not be heard or get the help they need. From the beginning of my career, my passion has been to help empower women with the information they need to advocate for themselves and get the help they need."
6. Making healthy choices when eating can reduce your risk.
Eating habits play a major role in your heart health. Even the most active person with less-than-stellar eating habits can be affected by heart disease. It's important to keep an eye on your cholesterol and blood pressure, along with following a balanced diet.
7. A family history of heart disease doesn't put a target on your back.
Many people believe that a family history of heart disease makes having it yourself inevitable. That isn't the case. If you know there's a history of heart disease in your family, creating an action plan can make all the difference. Doing so has helped save more than 670,000 women from heart disease, and 300 fewer are dying per day.
8. Hispanic women are likely to develop heart disease 10 years earlier than other women.
Heart disease awareness in Hispanic women needs some serious work. Only one in three Hispanic women are aware that heart disease is their No. 1 cause of death. The American Heart Association launched Go Red Por Tu Corazón to help. The organization promotes a heart-healthy lifestyle among Hispanic women, without disregarding family and cultural traditions.
9. The stats surrounding African American women and heart disease are concerning.
Cardiovascular diseases kill nearly 50,000 African American women annually, the AHA reports. Despite that, only 52% of African American women are familiar with the signs and symptoms of heart attack and stroke. African American women struggle with heart disease disproportionally for a number of reasons, including sodium sensitivity, health care access issues, and higher rates of obesity and diabetes.
10. Smoking can more than double your chance of heart attack and stroke.
Smoking complicates a number of factors that impact your cardiovascular system. Smoking can increase your blood pressure, cause plaque buildup in your blood vessels, and lower your good HDL cholesterol. Quitting can be tremendously helpful to your overall heart health.
11. Hormone replacement therapy doesn't reduce the risk of heart disease.
Because the risk of cardiovascular disease goes up after menopause, people once believed that hormone replacement therapy would reduce that risk. This is not the case. HRT actually was seen to increase risk in some postmenopausal women using a combined estrogen and progestin therapy.
12. Female heart attack survivors are twice as likely to see declines in memory.
A long-term study of more than 6,000 women ages 65 to 79 tracked brain function annually over eight years. Women who said they’d had heart disease were 29% more likely to have cognitive problems than those without heart disease. The study's findings, reported in the Journal of the American Heart Association, found that women who’d had a heart attack had the highest risk of developing trouble with thinking and memory.
