Cardiovascular Disease is a Silent Killer of Women

Did you know that cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women?

It kills more women than all forms of cancer combined. Forty five percent of women over 20 years of age have some form of cardiovascular disease, according to the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign.

Cardiovascular disease is a classification of many types of issues that can affect the heart and vascular system.

One of the most common is clogged arteries. Atherosclerosis is when plaque builds up inside the arteries, making them hard, stiff and clogged. Plaque is made up of deposits of fatty substances, cholesterol, cellular waste products, calcium, and fibrin-gross, right? The buildup of these substances over time can eventually block blood flow and may cause a heart attack or stroke.

Heart Attack

A heart attack, or myocardial infarction, happens when one or more areas of the heart muscle don’t get enough oxygen. When a piece of the plaque ruptures, it forms a blood clot, which is what actually blocks the flow of blood to the heart. Blood is what delivers oxygen to the heart. When the oxygen is cut off, the heart muscle begins to die.

This muscle damage begins to become irreversible in about 30 minutes. Download What is a Heart Attack Fact Sheet.

Heart attack symptoms in women are very different than men. A lot women don’t experience the most commonly described chest pressure, the symptoms are more subtle and often shrugged off.

• As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort, often described as upper back pressure that feels like squeezing or a rope being tied around them.
• Pain or discomfort:
  1. One or both arms
  2. The back
  3. Neck
  4. Jaw
  5. Stomach
• Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
• Arrythmia, or an irregular heartbeat that can feel like fluttering. Download the What is Arrhythmia Fact Sheet.
• Other signals that something is wrong:

• 1. Breaking out in a cold sweat
  2. Dizziness
  3. Nausea
  4. Lightheadedness

Stroke

Additional shocking facts are approximately 57.5% of total stroke deaths (read our stroke blog) are among women and 52% of hypertension (high blood pressure) deaths are among women. A stoke happens when a blood vessel going to the brain becomes blocked or bursts.

African American women are at highest risk of death from hypertension, with almost 58% of having the disease.

Risk factors for heart disease in women include preeclampsia and gestational diabetes.

Preeclampsia is high blood pressure that develops during pregnancy. It has serious risks for both the mother and baby. If this condition starts after 20 weeks into the pregnancy it’s called gestational hypertension and may double a woman’s chances for future heart failure and other ailments. It can also cause problems with the kidneys or liver.

Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of new moms and accounts for over on-third of maternal deaths.

Download Stroke and High Blood Pressure Fact Sheet.

High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure, in any form, maternal or regular, causes the heart to work harder than it needs to. A blood pressure reading measures the force of the blood pushing against the blood vessel walls. If this pressure is constantly elevated, it can damage and scar the arteries among other complications, including kidney failure.

Other risks of hypertension include: kidney failure, eye damage and heart failure. Download What Is High Blood Pressure Fact Sheet.

Blood pressure is divided into two parts, the systolic and diastolic measurements.

• Systolic: The top number in the ratio, which is also the higher of the two, measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats.
• Diastolic: The bottom number in the ratio, which is also the lower of the two, measures the pressure in the arteries between heartbeats.

Blood pressure numbers of 120/80 or less are considered normal. Higher readings can indicate hypertension and should be addressed with a medical professional.

Heart Failure

Heart failure is a scary term, but it means the heart isn’t working as effectively as it could be and the heart muscle cannot pump enough blood—work—to meet the needs of the rest of the body. There are different types of this chronic, progressive condition, including left-sided failure and right-sided failure.

The most serious type of failure is congestive heart failure (CHF).  This means that blood returns to the heart faster than it can be pumped out, hence congesting. This can cause the heart to beat faster or enlarge to accommodate the extra blood.

If the heart is having issues, there is a chance the lungs are impacted as well—changes or disease to one affects the other. CHF impacts the lungs as blood can back up into the veins that take blood through the lungs because the heart cannot move it efficiently. In a domino effect, fluid is pushed into the air sacs of the lungs to accommodate this extra pressure.

CHF also impacts the kidneys as their filtration properties become compromised with sodium and fluid building up.

Download What Is Heart Failure and How Can I Live With Heart Failure Fact Sheets.

Learn how cardiac care at home can help you manage a heart condition.