Study finds young women are more vulnerable to heart attacks

The old stereotype of the patient with heart attack being a middle-aged man no longer applies. Young women are now joining these undesirable ranks.

A recent study shows that American women are increasingly exposed to heart disease at a younger age – and receive lower care than men

An article in the Circulation Journal of the American Heart Association found that the rate of patients aged 35 to 54 years hospitalized for a heart attack in the United States rose from 27% in 1995-1999 to 32% between 2010- 2014.

Of these, the incidence among women increased from 21% to 31%, compared to 30% for men.

Equally strikingly, women are less likely to receive orientation-based treatment when they experience these life-threatening incidents because they often do not fit the profile of a patient in heart failure.

"The lifestyle of the American population, who is suffering from obesity and diabetes, is steadily deteriorating, changing the face of medicine," said Joseph A. Hill, professor of medicine at the University. of Texas and editor of Circulation. "We are seeing a deterioration in the lifestyle of young women starting university. The face of cardiovascular disease in our society is changing. "

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 735,000 people in the United States suffer a heart attack every year – an episode in which the heart muscle does not receive sufficient blood flow. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the country, with 635,000 deaths a year and one in four deaths among men and women.

Although women usually develop heart disease 10 years later and the hormones released during the menstrual cycle provide a protective benefit, the latest study indicates that they are now at a younger risk.

According to the CDC, only about half of women realize that heart disease is the most likely cause of death, 10 times more than breast cancer.

"We must recognize that now in 2019, women in their thirties have heart disease, whereas it was quite rare 20-30 years ago," Hill said. "The changes that have occurred over the past 20 years are amazing."

The study examined nearly 29,000 hospitalizations for heart attacks from 1995 to 2014 in four locations across the country, in Washington County, Maryland; Jackson, Mississippi; Forsyth County, North Carolina; and the suburbs of Minneapolis.

More: A stroke in a can? Study warns of health risks of dietary drinks for women 50 and older

More: Parents, watch for these warning signs of heart disease in young people

Patients were aged 35 to 74 years and the group considered young – 35 to 54 years old – accounted for 8,737 of the total hospitalizations, or 30%.

Harlan Krumholz, professor of cardiology at Yale University, said the study had some limitations, in part because its last data point had been collected more than four years ago, but that 39, but it is an important warning.

"This study is a critical signal that requires us to redouble our efforts to promote heart-healthy lifestyles and preventative strategies – and, in particular, focus on younger women", said Krumholz. "We risk losing the substantial gains we have made in previous decades."

The researchers also found that young women were less likely to receive treatments to open clogged arteries or to receive anticoagulant and cholesterol treatment to prevent a future heart attack.

Hill and Krumholz pointed out that treatment disparities were not due to intentional discrimination, but rather to occasional differences in symptoms between men and women who were victims of acute myocardial infarction or, more likely, 39, different expectations from health providers.

Krumholz pointed out that when he was in medical school and that the lesson was about heart attacks, the images used to illustrate them were always shown to men.

"When doctors see young women with risk factors, they do not necessarily consider them to be at high risk for heart disease. In general, this is not the typical profile, "said Krumholz.

"We must forget that there is a typical profile. In a society where obesity is becoming more prevalent and many of these risk factors are re-emerging, if we continue to gain weight, this will only complicate our risk of heart disease. "

Read or share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/27/young-women-now-more-vulnerable-heart-attacks-study-says/3011013002/