Doctors are warning that more young women who do not smoke and do not show signs of diabetes type 2 have high cholesterol or high blood pressure – the usual warning signs of cardiovascular disease.
Cardiovascular disease affects more and more young women PHOTO: Shuterstock
Earlier this year, the fitness trainer from Shropshire was driving home from a hockey game when she felt a pounding in her arms and then a sharp pain in her chest. Rushed to Royal Stoke University Hospital, doctors discovered she had suffered a type of heart attack that is usually less fatal – and more common in men, according to day by day
There are worrying signs that young women, especially those in their 30s and 40s, are more affected by heart problems. While Cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer of women in the UK – causing the death of one in 14 women each year – they are still largely considered a problem for men, especially among young people.
This is partly because men are more likely to have a heart attack earlier in life.
The risk for women tends to increase in their 50s, after menopause, because the levels of estrogen, the sex hormone that protects the heart, naturally decline. But in fact, there are worrying signs that younger women – and especially those in their 30s and 40s – are more affected.
Worrying data among young women
Data from the Office for National Statistics shows that the death rate from cardiovascular disease has increased for women aged 35 to 39 and 45 to 49 since 2019.
According to the aforementioned publication, a recent British study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) also found that although the number of people hospitalized for heart attacks has generally fallen from the mid- 1980s as a result of public health initiatives, they rose up to five percent a year for women aged 35 to 49.
The authors, from the University of Oxford, said the increase among younger women “it’s worrying”, again public information campaigns should “to get the message across that coronary artery disease is not just a disease of men and the elderly.”
US researchers found a similar trend. Almost a third of women hospitalized for heart attacks they are now between 35 and 54 years old, compared to 20% two decades ago.
Also, in Canada, the number of women between the ages of 20 and 49 who have a heart attack is increasing by 1.2% each year. This is bad enough that experts are now saying that public health initiatives, which have focused on people over 40, should be aimed at younger adults.
They say women in their 20s and 30s should also make sure they know their cholesterol and blood pressure to manage their risk.
“I have aggressively treated people over 40 for heart disease. We launched campaigns to lower cholesterol and blood pressure and encourage people to quit smoking. We have health checks for people over 40 to identify and manage the risks of heart attack and stroke. And they did a great job.” explains Sian Harding, professor of cardiac medicine at Imperial College London.
Recent data shows a nearly 20% drop in heart disease diagnoses and a significant 30% drop in heart attacks and strokes between 2000 and 2019.
Professor Connolly said most of the young women she treats have these common risk factors.
“There’s less exercise and the population is getting fatter, which means more heart attacks and more diabetes and kidney disease,” he says. The population is changing. also, with more South Asians at greater risk of heart problems at a younger age this may play a role in the statistics,” argued Dr. Connolly.
The link between Covid and heart disease
According to experts, there may be other factors, including Covid. Research has linked the virus to problems such as myocarditis, a rare inflammation of the heart, and atrial fibrillation, which causes an irregular heartbeat.
A study published last week showed that adults who were infected with Covid were almost twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke in the following three years.
The study, based on figures from the UK’s Biobank genetic database, included adults who were at least 50 years old at the start of the pandemic, and not younger adults – so it is not clear whether the same risks exist.
“Results suggest people with previous Covid infection may benefit from preventive care for cardiovascular disease,” said one of the lead authors, Hooman Allayee of the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine.
Stress can also play a role. Professor Harding says that some studies show an increase in the number of heart attacks in women.
Young women aged 16 to 24 are three times more likely to report symptoms of anxiety and depression than men of the same age. It rises again when a woman reaches middle life, at the same time as menopause, when the loss of estrogen can also increase blood pressure and cardiovascular risk.
The prevalence of mental health problems in women has steadily increased, from 19% in 1993 to 23% in 2014. Research has also shown that this may have worsened throughout the epidemic. – distributed
2024-10-15 12:43:00
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