More women than men die of heart failure. The reason for this is that half of the cases is not caused by a heart attack, which can be treated with modern methods. It is, rather, the long-term consequences of high blood pressure.
Half of the women with a heart is not a heart attack failure is the cause, but a long time of existing untreated high blood pressure. This leads to a progressive stiffening of the heart, for which there is as yet no effective treatment. Professor Eva Gerdts, from the Institute for Clinical science, University of Bergen, explains: "Men and women have a different biology, and this leads to different types of heart failure. It is time to recognize these differences. From a medical point of view, we still don’t know how women are best dealt with against heart attack or failure. This is an unacceptable Situation."
Various risk factors contribute to the gender differences:
- Women take more weight to: Worldwide eleven percent of women and fifteen percent of men obese (BMI greater than 30 kg/m2). "Obesity increases with age, and this Trend is greater in women than in men. Obesity increases the risk for hypertension by a factor of three. This in turn increases the risk for Herzerkrankungen", Gerdts explains.
- Diabetes type 2: obesity also increases the risk for type 2 Diabetes. A woman with Diabetes has complications, a much higher relative risk for Heart and death as a man.
- Estrogen protects the heart: After the menopause the Estrogen levels low, making the arteries stiffer and more prone to diseases.
- Smoking: Now more women Smoking than men. "Many women start Smoking to reduce their appetite and control your weight. This is, however, from a health point of view, not a good Wahl", Gerdts says.
NK