Berks County Bar Association The Berks Barrister Spring 2020 - 20

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Wellness Wisdom

Heart Disease
in Women
By Agnieszka Mochon, MD, FACC

I

t is 5:30 a.m. - the alarm clock goes off as it does daily. From
there the everyday routine begins starting with taking care
of your family, a busy workday, running from meeting to
meeting, to afternoon activities, getting dinner ready, preparing
for the next day and it's back in bed at 10 p.m. or later. Sound
familiar? This schedule is shared by many women across the
world. We take care of our children, significant others, parents
and very frequently forget to stop and ask when was the last
time I took care of myself. When was the last time I scheduled a
doctor's appointment and talked to my physician about my health
concerns? In fact, do I even know what is my greatest health risk?

Despite these gruesome statistics and increased awareness over
the past years (thanks to the many public campaigns, like GO
RED FOR WOMEN), only about 56% of women recognize that
heart disease is their number 1 killer. The awareness is even lower
amongst the African American and Hispanic women, as only 1 in
3 of those women know that heart disease is their greatest health
risk. Education is the key to understand the symptoms as well as
the personal risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

It is a common misconception that heart disease affects mostly
men. In fact, cardiovascular disease is the most common cause
of death for women. In the USA, heart disease and stroke cause
1 in 3 deaths among women each year, more than all cancers
combined. Approximately one woman dies of cardiovascular
disease every minute.

Cardiovascular disease is a broad term that includes a variety
of heart and blood vessel conditions, such as coronary artery
disease, stroke, high blood pressure, heart valve disease, vascular
disease, heart failure, abnormal heart rhythms, congenital heart
disease. The most common cause of cardiovascular disease is
atherosclerosis, which is the build-up of cholesterol and fatty
particles in the walls of the arteries. This leads to restriction
of the blood flow to the heart. If the coronary artery becomes
completely blocked, it can cause a heart attack.

But it doesn't affect all women alike. African American
women have almost twice the risk of stroke than Caucasians and
are more likely to die at an earlier age when compared to women
of other ethnicities. In addition, diabetes, obesity, high blood
pressure and high blood cholesterol are more prevalent among
African Americans and are major risk factors for heart disease
and stroke. For Hispanic, Asian, or Pacific Islander women, heart
disease is second after cancer-caused death. However, Hispanic
women are likely to develop heart disease 10 years earlier than
non-Hispanics.

Symptoms of heart disease, and specifically heart attacks in
women, can differ from the ones that men experience. Chest
pain is still the most common symptom of a heart attack in
women, however, in most cases it is not very severe or even the
most noticeable symptom. Sometimes women may experience a
heart attack without chest pain at all, and they frequently have
additional symptoms, like neck, jaw, shoulder, arms, upper back or
abdominal pain, shortness of breath, nausea or vomiting, sweating,
lightheadedness, unusual fatigue, indigestion, palpitations. In
addition, women tend to have symptoms more often at rest, or

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Berks County Bar Association The Berks Barrister Spring 2020

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