“Young people usually get aggressive heart disease that progresses quickly.” There has been for long been a gender divide in heart treatment as far as women are concerned. “They continue to be underdiagnosed, undertreated, and underrepresented in clinical trials in all areas of cardiovascular disease.”
Doctors here, however, blame the delayed diagnosis and treatment on the “different” symptoms of heart attacks for men and women. Women’s symptoms are more likely to be jaw pain (on the left side), back pain, vomiting, or uneasiness — each so generic.
Until a few decades back, women were presumed to be shielded from heart disease by estrogen. Research has revealed a nuanced difference: the protection is valid until menopause but, thereafter, women are as vulnerable to cardiac risks as their male counterparts. Blame it on the day-to-day-stress, lifestyle, or pollution, there are anecdotal reports of young Indians, both among men and young women, getting heart attacks at a younger age. Indians usually get heart attacks in their sixties, a decade before Caucasians do.
Personal accounts of women reveal how traumatizing this discovery can be. The changing heart health profile of women is a reflection of women is a reflection of the changing life of women. “All women now have double roles, one who manages home and one with a meaningful career. Both roes have inherent pressures.”
“There is more diabetes, more lifestyle problems such as sleep issues. Moreover, smoking among women has increased sharply over the years.”
Any woman who goes to an emergency room with complaints of uneasiness should undergo ECG scan and a blood test to detect protein troponin that is released when heart muscles are damaged. “Such protocols are followed in metro cities, but should become the norm.”
