What do women need to know about heart disease?
For acute events like a heart attack, chest pressure, squeezing, or fullness is the number-one symptom. Of all the people who have atypical symptoms, women tend to have a higher percentage. Atypical symptoms include shortness of breath, nausea, sweatiness, palpitations, pain in the neck, jaw, or back, and unusual fatigue.
Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality for women in the United States. A study published in Circulation revealed that between 2009 and 2019 that awareness has declined, especially among communities of color and women between the ages of 25-34 years. Primary and secondary prevention of heart disease needs to be a priority for health care providers. Researchers are also developing strategies to optimize cardiac outcomes for women with ischemia who show no evidence of obstructive coronary artery disease.
I am hopeful that continued clinical attention and research will significantly improve outcomes for women with heart disease in the future.
Lisa Freed, MD
"I am hopeful that continued clinical attention and research will significantly improve outcomes for women with heart disease in the future," said Lisa Freed, MD, assistant professor of clinical medicine and director of the Women’s Heart and Vascular Program.
How can women prevent heart disease?
Research funded by the American Heart Association (AHA) has shown that 80 percent of cardiovascular disease is preventable. Women can prevent heart disease by monitoring risk factors such as blood pressure, lipids, and blood sugar, as well as by living a healthy lifestyle with respect to diet and exercise. Also, women should avoid cigarette smoking. Stress management and other psychosocial factors such as depression and anxiety also play a role.
For screening of underlying coronary artery disease Yale New Haven Heart & Vascular Center offers a calcium score which measures the level of plaque in your coronary arteries. An exercise treadmill test can be useful to assess for significant coronary artery disease. Yale also offers a variety of nuclear or positron emission tomography (PET) stress tests as well as cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and computed tomography (CT) scans for advanced cardiac assessment.
What gives you hope?
This year, we are partnering with the American Heart Association and Sandra Bulmer, PhD, of Southern Connecticut State University to encourage future generations of women to pursue a career in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics at the AHA STEM Goes Red event.
Institutions such as the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology, as well as hospital systems like Yale New Haven Health have maintained continuous attention on women and heart disease over the past two decades. Together, this year’s Go Red for Women campaign has raised $75,000 for the American Heart Association. Please visit the New Haven Go Red for Women website to donate. Fundraising for the annual campaign ends June 30, 2023.