Causes Of Heart Attack In Women
A heart attack is the death of heart muscle from the sudden blockage of a coronary artery by a blood clot. A blockage in the heart’s arteries may reduce or completely cut off the blood supply to a portion of the heart. This can cause a blood clot to form and totally stop blood flow in a coronary artery, resulting in a heart attack.
Women develop heart problems about seven to eight years later than men. By age 75, cardiovascular disease is more common among women than men. Although it can affect women of all ages Furthermore, diagnosing heart attacks can be more difficult in women than men because women tend to have less “typical” symptoms.
A number of risk factors which increase a woman’s chance of developing coronary artery disease (CAD) and having a heart attack are following:
- Between ages 55 and 74, high blood pressure (hypertension) is slightly more common among women. And uncontrollable high blood pressure is a major risk factor of getting heart attack.
- A regular smoking habit greatly increases the risk of damage to the coronary arteries (more so in women) and dying from heart attack.
- Obesity is another leading cause of contributing to heart disease. Obese women are much more likely to die from a heart attack than those who are not.
- Total cholesterol levels should be less than 200. High cholesterol levels in women also lead to heart attack.
- Family history of heart disease. Women, like men, are more likely to develop heart disease if heart disease runs in their family.
- According to the American Heart Association, diabetic women are twice as likely to suffer from heart disease as non-diabetic women. Similarly the impact of diabetes on stroke risk is greater for women than men.
Tags: heart attack, heart care, Heart Diseases, Heart Health, Women Health