HEALTHWATCH

Women's Health

Heart Disease Poses Serious Problem for Women
By Jaclyn Cunanan

The American Heart Association says only 13 of women consider heart disease as their greatest health risk (the most common answer was breast cancer). Yet, currently one in three women dies of heart disease. Part of the problem is that while heart disease is perceived as a predominantly male illness, it's the number one killer of women in the United States, exceeding all female cancer deaths combined. This perception of heart disease as a male problem leads women and their doctors to avoid seeing it as a serious threat and when it occurs, to not treat it as aggressively in women as in men. The American Heart Association reports that women make up approximately 52 of all Americans suffering from one or more forms of cardiovascular disease. However, the National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease says women receive only 33 of angioplasties, stents, and bypass surgeries, 28of implantable defibrillators, and 36 of open-heart surgeries despite dying in higher numbers than their male counterparts. Even though more women than men suffer from heart disease, women comprise only 25 of participants in all heart-related research studies.

Experts say women with heart disease are often treated as “little men,” with no regard to sex differences the disease may take. For example, the Society for Women's Health Research states that while women have a higher rate of non-traditional symptoms of heart disease, these symptoms are often not taken seriously or are misdiagnosed as heart burn or stress. Likewise, a report in Heart, a medical journal, reveals that women with symptoms of heart disease are more likely than men to have their symptoms dismissed as stress-related or psychosomatic. In fact, a case study of doctors in training by the State University of New York, Stonybrook, compared the treatment received by a man and a woman with the same cardiac symptoms and stress arising from the denial of a job promotion showed a marked gender bias in diagnosis. The majority of the medical students recommended that the man be referred to a cardiologist while a similar majority recommended that the woman be referred to a psychologist.

Some researchers believe that lesbians may be at an increased risk of suffering from heart disease. This could be attributed to the general tendency of lesbians to see physicians less often for preventative and diagnostic care, according to the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Reasons for this tendency could include fear of stigmatization, physician's ignorance of lesbian health risks, and not having health insurance because of the lack of legalized domestic partner benefits.

All in all, research shows that the current state of cardiovascular health care for women in general and lesbians in particular must be improved. The Heart Truth, an education campaign of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, recommends the following to rectify the situation: first, more studies must be conducted to determine the specific pathology of heart disease as it occurs in women. Second, doctors must adjust treatment strategies according to the gender of their patient. Finally, women must be educated that heart disease is a women's health issue and not something of sole interest to men. Many risk factors for heart disease such as smoking, having high cholesterol, and being overweight are preventable, but women will not take steps to ensure heart health unless they are aware that the problem is one that affects them personally.

Resources:

National Coalition for Women with Hearth Disease

The Heart Truth Campaign

Heart Center Online

American Hearth Association

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