UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found that women are less likely than men to change lifestyle habits that contribute to heart disease risks reveals a new study. The study also says that women more often do not give up smoking or increase physical activity, even when they have relatives with heart disease.
"A family history of heart disease is as important an indicator of future cardiovascular health in women as it is in men - perhaps more important," said Dr. Amit Khera, assistant professor of internal medicine and senior author of the study.
Heart Attack
Heart attack is the death of the heart muscle due to loss of blood supply. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Other names for heart attack include acute myocardial infarction, coronary thrombosis, and coronary occlusion.
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"And yet there is an under appreciation of cardiovascular-disease risk among young women, which may contribute to unfavourable trends in important lifestyle choices such as quitting smoking and increasing physical activity," Dr Khera said.
Researchers looked at data from more than 2,400 people between the ages of 30 and 50. Family history of premature heart disease was defined as a first-degree relative with history of heart attacks before the age of 50 in men and 55 in women.
![Bashful Men 50% More Likely to Die of Heart Attack or Stroke]( "Bashful Men 50% More Likely to Die of Heart Attack or Stroke")
It really doesn't pay to be shy if you are a man, for a new study has found that timid men are 50 percent more likely to die of heart disease.
They analyzed the link between family history of heart disease and risk factors for cardiovascular disease in women such as coronary artery calcification, risk perception and lifestyle choices in young women and compared the data with their young, male counterparts.
"Although the prevalence of cardiovascular disease is generally low for young women, the consequences can be more severe. For instance, women are twice as likely as men to have fatal heart attacks," Dr. Khera said.
The researchers used data from the Dallas Heart Study — a multi-ethnic, population-based study of more than 6,000 patients in Dallas County designed to examine cardiovascular disease. Participants came for three office visits for blood pressure and heart-rate measurements, participated in detailed in-home surveys, and had imaging tests that looked for calcium build-up in the coronary arteries.
Those with family histories of heart disease had an increased prevalence of early heart disease, such as build-up of fatty deposits and calcium in the arteries.
Young women with family histories of heart disease had the highest rate of tobacco use (40 percent compared to 25.2 percent of females without cardiovascular disease histories) and had elevated unhealthy body-mass index rates (51 percent compared to 44.4 percent for females without histories) despite a slightly lower rate of sedentary lifestyles (40.1 percent compared to 43.9 percent).
The data from males showed narrower differences in both tobacco use (37 percent for those with family histories, 34.8 for those without) and high BMI readings (38.1 percent compared to 30.3 percent) while also revealing more regular activity (20.7 percent of men with family histories of heart disease reported sedentary lifestyles compared to 38.2 percent for those without histories).
"It's important that women get this message and make appropriate lifestyle changes. The earlier you make lifestyle changes, the more you decrease your risk factors for heart disease in the future," Dr. Khera said.
"It's equally important that physicians ask questions about family history because you don't need a blood test or any fancy diagnostic tests to uncover a trend. If a patient has a family history of heart attacks, they have an increased risk of heart disease and warrant further studies and more aggressive risk factor changes," Dr Khera added.
The study is published in the September issue of the American Heart Journal.
Source: ANI
LIN/J
Bashful Men 50% More Likely to Die of Heart Attack or Stroke
It really doesn't pay to be shy if you are a man, for a new study has found that timid men are 50 percent more likely to die of heart disease.
Advertisement
They analyzed the link between family history of heart disease and risk factors for cardiovascular disease in women such as coronary artery calcification, risk perception and lifestyle choices in young women and compared the data with their young, male counterparts.
"Although the prevalence of cardiovascular disease is generally low for young women, the consequences can be more severe. For instance, women are twice as likely as men to have fatal heart attacks," Dr. Khera said.
The researchers used data from the Dallas Heart Study — a multi-ethnic, population-based study of more than 6,000 patients in Dallas County designed to examine cardiovascular disease. Participants came for three office visits for blood pressure and heart-rate measurements, participated in detailed in-home surveys, and had imaging tests that looked for calcium build-up in the coronary arteries.
Those with family histories of heart disease had an increased prevalence of early heart disease, such as build-up of fatty deposits and calcium in the arteries.
Young women with family histories of heart disease had the highest rate of tobacco use (40 percent compared to 25.2 percent of females without cardiovascular disease histories) and had elevated unhealthy body-mass index rates (51 percent compared to 44.4 percent for females without histories) despite a slightly lower rate of sedentary lifestyles (40.1 percent compared to 43.9 percent).
The data from males showed narrower differences in both tobacco use (37 percent for those with family histories, 34.8 for those without) and high BMI readings (38.1 percent compared to 30.3 percent) while also revealing more regular activity (20.7 percent of men with family histories of heart disease reported sedentary lifestyles compared to 38.2 percent for those without histories).
"It's important that women get this message and make appropriate lifestyle changes. The earlier you make lifestyle changes, the more you decrease your risk factors for heart disease in the future," Dr. Khera said.
"It's equally important that physicians ask questions about family history because you don't need a blood test or any fancy diagnostic tests to uncover a trend. If a patient has a family history of heart attacks, they have an increased risk of heart disease and warrant further studies and more aggressive risk factor changes," Dr Khera added.
The study is published in the September issue of the American Heart Journal.
Source: ANI
LIN/J
Women With Heart Disease Suffers from Depression
Women who have suffered heart attacks have higher rates of lingering depressive symptoms compared to their male counterparts.
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 Women are More Benefited by Exercise in Preventing Heart DiseaseExercise appears to help females more than males in preventing cardiovascular disease, a new study has found. | Advertisement
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