Heart attack: women also have a fragile heart
Contrary to popular belief, women also have a fragile heart and cardiovascular disease is even the leading cause of death in women (with more than one in two deaths).
For Professor Michel Bertrand, cardiologist at Lille University Hospital, “women with a longer life expectancy than men have more time to develop cardiovascular disease, which is a pathology mainly affecting the elderly. In addition, the tendency of women to suffer from stroke (or stroke), comes from the fact that they frequently develop heart rhythm disturbances as they get older “.
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Heart attack: 10 years later than in men
Currently coronary heart disease appears on average 10 years later in women than in men. Until now, we thought the woman sufficiently protected by her female hormones (estrogens). But a change in female behavior has changed the situation: women smoke more and more, and often in association with a contraceptive pill.
However, as Professor Michel Bertrand points out, the tobacco associationpill 20 times the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. “The pill alone is not dangerous but it is the association with tobacco that is unconscious.”
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Heart attack: signs to know
For Prof. Nicolas Danchin, head of the coronary disease unit at the Georges Ponpidou European hospital and vice-president of the French Society of Cardiology, it is now necessary for health professionals to take into account the risk and specificities of cardiovascular disease in women.
“It is all the same surprising to note that there are more and more very young women victims of infarcts. Beyond the physiological differences, we must question ourselves about our daily practice and this especially since ‘a woman is 20% less likely to be offered a stress test and 40% less likely to have an angiogram. “
This is why women, including young women, should not hesitate to consult a doctor when faced with discomfort in the chest but also
discomfort, shortness of breath, or even a feeling of discomfort in the jaw or any other discomfort which may reflect heart disease.
With the collaboration of the European Society of Cardiology.