Heart Disease Risks, Symptoms, and Prevention Tips for Men and Women
A Super Bowl win. Valentine’s Day. Our hearts are aflutter with good cheer this time of year. Maybe that’s why the American Heart Association picked February as American Heart Month.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death among both men and women in the United States. When medical experts talk about “heart disease”, they’re referring to several types of heart conditions, like high blood pressure or coronary artery disease, that can lead to heart failure or heart attack.
Watch Dr. Baweja explain the differences between women and men with the heart.
Interventional cardiologist Paramdeep Baweja, MD said that the most common symptom of heart attack are pain or tightness in the chest, pain leading to neck or arm, and shortness of breath. But Dr. Baweja said women can have different symptoms, such as vomiting and back pain.
He also said that providers continue to study the differences in the hearts of men and women. “Women tend to have smaller arteries and smaller heart sizes,” said Dr Baweja. That’s important, he explained, because it takes less plaque to clog smaller arteries than larger arteries.
Dr. Baweja said for men and women, prevention is key:
- People who smoke should quit
- Advocate for your health, know your numbers: blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and weight
- Make exercise or movement part of your day and quality sleep a priority at night