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VOL. 6 • NO. 6
© February 2012
Heart Disease in Women Lack of awareness adds to problems Wanda Tswago, a trained medical technologist, is a 44-year-old proud mother of two. And a heart attack survivor. Even though her sister had her first heart attack at age 40, another at 42 and a fatal one at age 45, Tswago still didn’t see it coming. Her major health fear was acquiring breast cancer — not heart disease. “I did not fit the profile,” she explained. “I was 31, had normal blood pressure and cholesterol and didn’t smoke.” She assumed her years as a dancer and gymnast — together with her small frame — offered her protection. But she was wrong. When it comes to heart disease misperceptions abound and partly explains the high death rate of heart disease in women — and particularly in younger women. Based on results from several recent studies, the majority of women are not aware of the disease and its link to other chronic illnesses. Nor do most women recognize the symptoms of a heart attack. That mistake can prove to be deadly. Heart disease is the number one killer in both men and women. Yet, if you ask women to name the biggest killer among women, many would answer “breast cancer.” Indeed breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and trails only lung cancer in the number of cancer deaths, but its numbers pale in comparison to heart disease. While roughly
Brenda Taylor (right) posed with Patti LaBelle at a recent health seminar promoting LaBelle’s new cookbook. Taylor had a heart attack and open heart surgery at the age of 43. (Photo courtesy of Brenda Taylor)
40,000 women die of breast cancer each year, in the 2012 updates of heart disease and stroke statistics, the American Heart Association (AHA) reports that nearly 200,000 women succumb to heart disease each year. A recent study commissioned by the AHA revealed that much work needs to be done to increase awareness of heart disease, particularly in women of color. Sixty percent of white women were aware of heart disease as the leading cause
of death among women, compared to roughly 43 percent of African American and Hispanic women and one third of Asian women. Awareness of signs of a heart attack is equally wanting. Only 56 percent of the women interviewed cited pain in the chest, neck, shoulder and arm as a warning sign. Less than one third recognized the threat of shortness of breath; 17 percent were aware of chest tightness and nausea. A scant 7 percent could cite fatigue as a factor.
In Tswago’s case, pain started in her lower back, an ache she initially blamed on the effects of an epidural she had during the delivery of her daughter two weeks earlier. “It was a dull, achy pain that did not go away,” she said. Her home remedy of painkillers did not do the trick. Not only did the pain get worse, it began to travel. When it reached the left side of her neck she applied a heating pad to soothe the pain. At least nine hours had passed. Later that night, “everything went south,” she said. “An uneasy feeling came over me. I felt disoriented.” By that time the pain had spread to both arms, her chest — and intensified in her back. “It felt like someone was stabbing me in the back,” she said. It was then her husband finally took her to the hospital. But there she was required to wait additional time even though new symptoms — shortness of breath and nausea — emerged. The triage in the emergency room did not recognize her symptoms either. An EKG eventually indicated that she had suffered a heart attack. A catheterization, a diagnostic test to look for clogged arteries, showed an almost complete blockage in one of the major arteries feeding the heart. A stent to open the artery provided only a Tswago, continued to page 4
Lifestyle changes can reduce risks Like many women, Mildred Rodriguez, 65, did not recognize the symptoms of a heart attack. Nor did she know she was at risk. She did not know that her mother’s heart attack at the age of 62 or her fluctuating blood pressure put her directly in the line of fire. She attributed the pain in her chest and bloating “gas pains” to a soda she drank at dinner. As for the ache in her left shoulder, she blamed that on a home improvement project she and her husband had recently completed. She could not account for the excessive fatigue; as a fulltime grandmother of eight, she knew life could be exhausting at times. She thought all she needed was a day of rest. That didn’t help either. Though she felt better, she still didn’t feel well. “Better” was not good enough for Rodriguez’s husband. He insisted she see her doctor. She was glad he did. An EKG indicated that Rodriguez had had a heart attack. “I walked around for three days with a heart attack,” she exclaimed. This revelation was only the beginning. She required surgery to bypass six significant blockages in arteries of her heart. When a stress test some time later was abnormal, Rodriguez wound up with four stents to open additional clogged blood vessels.
That was the turning point for Rodriguez. She realized after this second bout of treatment for her heart disease that she needed to take control of her health. She admitted that prior to her attack, she did not know her cholesterol level, nor did she have an inkling where her triglycerides ranked. “I looked more on the outside,” she said. “I looked healthy; that’s all that mattered.” She doesn’t believe that anymore. She knew she had to turn her life around. “When you have open heart surgery, you have to have a new way of life,” she said. “If not, you will not live much longer.” Symptoms of a heart attack can differ in women. Typical symptoms, such as chest pain, neck and jaw pain can be present in everyone. Women may experience shortness of breath, nausea, fatigue and tightness or squeezing in the chest. What’s also different is the length of time to seek treatment. “Women tend to report to the emergency room an average one hour later than men,” said Dr. Malissa Wood, co-director of the Corrigan Women’s Heart Health Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital Heart Center. “They think ‘I know this isn’t cardiac’ or ‘it’s not severe enough to go to the hospital.’ ” The differences between men and women and heart disease don’t stop at the emergency room. Take plaque, for instance. Plaque is an accumulation of fat, calcium and other
Mildred Rodriguez bicycles with her husband, Hector. At 52, Mildred had open heart surgery following a heart attack. She now works with WomenHeart of Miami Espanol. WomenHeart is a national coalition for women with heart disease. (Photo courtesy of Mildred Rodriguez)
waste that clings to the walls of arteries, including those of the heart. If the plaque builds up too much or breaks off and forms a clot, it can rob the heart of much needed oxygenated blood. This accumulation of plaque is the culprit behind angina, or chest pain, or heart attacks. The causes of plaque are many — smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes and inflammation, to name a few. Rodriguez, continued to page
heart disease is the #1 killer of women in the United States? Did you know that
Know your risks. Talk to your doctor about heart disease prevention. February is Heart Month