You are never too young or too Healthy to have a Heart Attack

By in Cardiology Cardiac Electrophysiology

Feb 27, 2018

Majority of us think that heart attacks are something which generally happens to older people specially men. But that’s a myth; heart disease is being one of the leading causes of death especially in women. Heart attacks are more catastrophic for young women for the age group between 30-54 years than they are in men. It has been seen that young women in particular are ignoring the early sign and symptoms of heart attacks and thus are not receiving possible life-saving treatment.

If reports are to be believed every year, 15,000 young women under the age of 55 dies because of heart disease, making it the leading cause of death for women worldwide. It has been observed that younger women are twice as likely to die after getting hospitalized for a heart attack in comparison to the men of the same age group. So the major concern is why aren’t women rushing to the doctor at the first sign of the problem? One of the basic reason for this ignorance is that the first sign doesn’t resemble what many of relate with heart attacks at all.

Apart from misinformation about the sign and symptoms, gender also influence the ways women get the care and treatment. Women in agony of heart attack are often misguided. Women’s are usually caregivers and are worried more about other people before themselves, so they tend to deal with the symptoms for longer. They normally wait to consult the doctor until the heart disease doesn’t get worse.

Aside of regular symptoms such as chest pain and blood pressure which goes with heart attack, women might experience a lot of other symptoms such as shortness of breath and indigestion to nausea and a general sense of dread. Women normally relate these symptoms to other causes such as arthritis, heartburn, or anxiety and they just don’t bother to seek care.

It’s not only important for women to know about the unusual sign so that they can get an immediate medical treatment, but also, so they can advocate for themselves once they are there. The sign of heart attack may be mild and less specific for some women but even though women may experience less severe signs of a heart attack, the upshot remain significant. Even the mildest heart attacks can lead to tissue damage that can further leads up to additional health problems down the line.

How to lower down the risk of heart attacks in Young women:

Adapting certain changes in lifestyle can have a great impact on your heart. If you smoke, stop it now as according to research coronary heart disease risk is cut down by 50% just after a year of quitting. Start indulging yourself in an exercise habit if you haven’t; 30 minutes of walking every day is helpful in lowering down the risk of heart attack and stroke. You need to make certain changes in your diet also, get a healthy sustainable food plan for a healthy living heart.

Apart from the above mentioned things, regular checkups and routine tests are mandatory to keep yourself updated about any sign or symptoms of heart disease. Not to forget to keep a check on blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, etc as all of these can influence your risk.

Metro Group of Hospitals encourage all the women out there to openly speak to their primary care doctors about their risk factors for heart disease and what are the steps they can take which can help them to lower down the risk of the disease.