Fatal heart attack more common in women

Women are more likely to have a fatal heart attack than men. One reason for this is that the underlying conditions in women can be more difficult to diagnose, explained Prof. Vera Regitz-Zagrosek, director of the Institute for Gender Research (GIM) at the Charité Berlin, on the occasion of the joint symposium „gender medicine“ the German Society for Gender-Specific Medicine and the GIM.

19/11/2012

As for the men are also in women „the main reasons for a heart attack overweight, diabetes and smoking“, reports Prof. Regitz-Zagrosek. However, according to the expert, the women often show other symptoms in advance than male heart attack patients. This may significantly complicate the diagnosis, which has a detrimental effect on the patient's chances of survival.

Women with atypical heart attack symptoms
With around 60,000 deaths annually, heart attacks are one of the leading causes of death in Germany. According to the director of the GIM, women are at particular risk. While men usually have the typical symptoms, such as a chest bruise and chest pain, which can radiate into the back, shoulder, upper abdomen and arms, women show more atypical complaints, such as tiredness, sweating and back pain. Even jaw pain may indicate a heart attack in women, explained Prof. Regitz-Zagrosek. Because of the very different symptoms that women experience during heart attack, it is often difficult for clinicians to make the right diagnosis, according to the director of the GIM.

Difficult diagnosis of heart attack patients
In addition to the difficulties in the diagnosis of heart attack patients often arise in the course of drug treatment after a heart attack, said the expert. Not infrequently, the drugs would be taken by affected women in too high a dosage, since no gender-specific drug development is practiced, says Prof. Regitz-Zagrosek. If there is no possibility of gender-specific dosage, the treating physicians should set a dosage, taking into account the lower weight and the increased body fat percentage of the patients, explained the expert.

Heart attacks prevent healthy lifestyle
Similarly, for men and women, the risk of a heart attack can be minimized by a healthy lifestyle with a balanced diet, plenty of exercise or exercise, and abstinence from smoking. Also typical pre-existing conditions, such as high blood pressure or coronary heart disease, could be avoided by a healthy lifestyle mostly. However, when the first heartache occurs, the damage of the organ is often already well advanced and irreversible. By changing the lifestyle, only a further deterioration of the state of health can be avoided here, a restoration of the full heart function is no longer achievable. (Fp)

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