A new study show, Younger women who suffer from a heart attack are more likely to die than men in the decade after surgery.
This research included more than 400 women and nearly 1,700 men, of an average age of 45, who had a first heart attack between 2000 and 2016.
After an average follow-up of more than 11 years, there have been no statistically significant differences between men and women for heart-related deaths.
However, according to the study published on Oct. 14 in the European Heart Journal, it shows that women had a 1.6-fold increased risk of dying from other causes during the follow-up.
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According to Dr. Subroto Mandal DM – Cardiology, MD – MBBS Cardiologist, Bhopal- Young women with periods are less likely to be at risk from heart attacks, this was the initial thought but this concept no longer exists and it has changed
“The initial concept of young women with periods are less likely to be at risk from heart attacks, has changed and this thought no longer exists. Stress is the major reason behind this issue. These days the young women are more career-oriented, competitive, and leads a stressful life. This stress leads to a higher risk of heart attacks in young women. As the stress level increases the number of heart attacks also increases.”
“Another reason for these heart attacks may be the unhealthy lifestyle they follow. Like irregular diet plans, leading a stressful life, or even over-exercising can lead to this situation. It mostly happens with working women. Stress causes hormonal imbalances in the body that can lead to problems like heart attacks,” he added.
“Studies have also found that females are less capable of handling stress than men. In some women genetics also plays an important role for heart attacks”, he further added.
Study leader Dr. Ron Blankstein, a preventive cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston said, “Cardiovascular deaths occurred in 73 men and 21 women, 4.4% versus 5.3% respectively, over a median follow-up time of 11.2 years.”
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“However, when excluding deaths that occurred in the hospital, there were 157 deaths in men and 54 deaths in women from all causes during the follow-up period: 9.5% versus 13.5% respectively, which is a significant difference, and a greater proportion of women died from causes other than cardiovascular problems, 8.4% versus 5.4% respectively,” Blankstein said in a journal news release.
According to the study, it was also found that men were more likely to undergo invasive procedures after admission to the hospital with a heart attack or to be treated with some medications when they were discharged, like aspirin, beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, and statins.
“It’s important to note that overall most heart attacks in people under the age of 50 occur in men. Only 19% of the people in this study were women. However, women who experience a heart attack at a young age often present with similar symptoms as men, are more likely to have diabetes, have lower socioeconomic status, and ultimately are more likely to die in the longer term,” Blankstein noted.