Smoking and diabetes threaten the hearts of women more than men

LONDON (Reuters) – A British study reveals that women who smoke, who have diabetes or high blood pressure are more likely to have a heart attack than men.

The researchers said women should have the same therapeutic levels as men and have the support they need to stop smoking.

Physicians should also be interested in identifying sick women at risk.

Men are still three times more likely to have a heart attack than women.

The study, led by researchers from Oxford University, involved about 500,000 people aged 40 to 69 registered on the BioBank database.

The study found that in the last seven years, 5081 people have been victims of the first heart attack, one-third of them women.

Although the risk of heart attack for women is lower than that of men during life stages, some risk factors seem to be more effective for them.

Women who smoke are three times more likely to have a heart attack than non-smokers, while the risk of smoking increases in men.

Hypertension also increases the risk of women by 83% more than men.

The study found that the incidence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes had a greater impact on women than men.

The researchers say that they do not know why these factors are gender-related and can not draw definitive conclusions about the cause and effect, but they adopt certain theories.

This can be caused by biological agents. For example, type 2 diabetes, often associated with poor nutrition and lifestyle, can have different effects on women's hearts.

Women generally do not know they are at risk of heart disease and their access to medical care and services may be lower than that of men, according to the study.

Men are perhaps most likely to have a heart attack, but heart disease is the deadliest for women in Britain, the researchers said in an accompanying study.

"Heart disease also affects women, and it must be recognized," said Elizabeth Millett, supervisor of studies and epidemiologist at the George of World Health Institute at Oxford University.

"Women need to be aware of the danger they are running despite launching many campaigns."

"It's a complicated task in the long run, perhaps because of a combination of biological and social factors," she said.

In the future, the overall rate of heart attacks in women could be similar to that of men, she said.

Women with diabetes, high blood pressure and smokers "should be aware of the level of risk compared to many men," said the study's authors.

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