fitness news
Font size Women’s Health
‘Indian Women Ignore Ailments of the Heart’
– Reported, February 14, 2012
It’s a public health campaign urging people to “Go Red” and educate American women about their growing vulnerability to heart diseases . Throughout February, the month associated with matters of the heart due to Valentine’s Day, the US will focus on women’s heart problems ; wearing red clothes is only one of the highlights. And, if doctors here are to be believed, India and Mumbai would do well to do the same. India, after all, has recorded a 100% growth in the incidence of heart diseases in women over the last 15 years.
“Every minute in the US, someone’s wife, mother, daughter or sister dies from heart disease, stroke or other form of cardiovascular disease (CVD),” goes the campaign planned by the American Heart Association. Corresponding numbers are not available for India but doctors say that desi women are as vulnerable to heart diseases as their western counterparts . And India, too, could take advantage of the day to spread the message.
“The problem here is that they tend to ignore all the symptoms and go to the doctor late,” rues director of cardiology at Jaslok Hospital, Dr A B Mehta. In India, the myth that women are protected against heart diseases is popular. “It is true that women, due to their hormones , have some protection against heart diseases until they reach menopause. But by the time they turn 60 years, the ratio of the disease between men and women is 1:1,” added Dr Mehta
Consider this. “In the last 40 years, there has been a 300% rise in the incidence of heart diseases among women ,” said Delhi’s leading cardiologist Dr Ashok Seth. “But this rise,” he added, “has been more in the last 10-15 years than in the first 25 years.”
Heart diseases among women are clearly different from those among men. “For one, women tend to have angina while men tend to have severe heart attacks. More women than men have heart failure,” said Dr Mehta. There have been studies in the US to show that symptoms of heart attacks also follow the gender divide; shortness of breath, nausea and back or jaw pain is more common among women than men. Also, a bypass surgery or angioplasty is more difficult to perform in women than men because they have smaller arteries and a more severe disease.
Dr Ajay Mahajan from civic-run Sion Hospital said: “Among younger women, heart problems arise mainly during pregnancy.”
However, one aspect has been established beyond doubt: heart diseases are becoming more common among women . “Lifestyle is the only factor fuelling this increase,” said Dr Seth.
When cardiac problem is no barrier for lovers
When Nashik’s Nitin Edavi told Seema Ramchandani about his congenital heart disease on their first date two years ago, she thought he was trying to avoid commitment.
When , he showed her his medical reports stating that he had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition in which heart muscles get thickened and cannot move well. “I couldn’t stop loving him,” said Seema, who dated Nitin for two years before agreeing to marry him on January 28. Two months before the wedding, Nitin fainted. “We took him to a local hospital, but I wanted the best treatment,” she added.
Fortis Hospital (Mulund), Dr Hasmukh Rawat conducted a procedure called alcohol ablation on November 28. “We injected a little alcohol into the affected portion of his heart. This reduces the thickness and restores normal condition of the heart,” said Dr Rawat. Doctors told Seema that a recurrence was possible, but she didn’t budge from her decision to marry Nitin. “By January, he was fit again. Our wedding took place as planned,” said Seema, who returned from her honeymoon in Mauritius in time to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
Symptoms Of Heart Attack
Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the centre of the chest. It lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach Shortness of breath with or without any chest discomfort Other signs such as breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or light-headedness American Heart Association states that as with men, the most common heart attack symptom among women is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting & back or jaw pain In the Indian context, women go for consultation later than men Their disease seems severe & advanced in comparison to men
For more India News Click Here