Heart attacks affect women differently than men, depending on the results of a study published in the medical journal PLOS ONE. The death rate among women who survived a acute myocardial infarction(IAM) exceed that of men.
Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany conducted a study with 4,100 participants to assess the heart disease in both men and women.
The results of the study revealed that the year after a heart attack, women were 1.5 times more likely to die, compared to men in the same clinical case.
The team of researchers therefore encourages healthcare professionals to follow up more closely the women who have had a infarction, especially the first year after this one.
“The attending physicians should be fully aware of the social situation of these women and try to provide them with support. Particularly when there are signs of depression, family physicians must be vigilant, ”said study author Professor Georg Schmidt.
The differences between men and women
The study brought to light several kinds of differences between men and women.
In fact, humans are more prone to myocardial infarction, which is fairly simple to treat, by enlarging the blocked blood artery. Women are more likely to be affected by diffuse coronary heart disease, which is more complicated to treat with surgery.
In general, heart attacks occur later, ten years after the affected men, and in women often affected by other pathologies such as diabetes or the depression, which appears to be a risk factor.
Less visible symptoms
The researchers also observed that women do not develop the same symptoms as men and that they are especially less detectable.
“Women often face different day-to-day expectations after a heart attack than men do. They are expected to be on their feet faster, which can make them subject to more stress,” explains Professor Schmid.
Further studies are needed to determine the role of psycho-social factors on women’s heart health. “Further research would be needed to assess whether there are also other reasons for the differences between men and women in the face of this disease, perhaps biological reasons”, concludes the author of the study.
Read also:
Women live with the risk of recurrence after a heart attack
Depression and anxiety: a higher risk in women after a heart attack
Heart attack: six times more risk for young women with diabetes
