This Thursday, May 28 marks the global day of action for women’s health. In the midst of a health crisis linked to the coronavirus epidemic, the association “Acting for the hearts of women” warns of what it considers to be a “time bomb”: the French put their health on hold during confinement.
Its creator Claire Mounier-Vehier, cardiologist and head of cardiology service at the Lille University Hospital, recalls that “200 French women die every day from a heart problem“because of” 5 major risk factors “that are stress, tobacco, physical inactivity, precariousness and contraception estro-progestatif. According to her,” the stress of deconfinement “with”home telework and kids to manage“is more sensitive in women because” our coronary arteries are very sensitive to stress and other risk factors “.
The symptoms of heart problem are “shortness of breath with progressive exertion, pain in the belly and between the shoulders and tiredness”. During the confinement period, Claire Mounier-Vehier estimates that “the women had an over-stress with cardiac consequences and arrhythmia” but that “in 8 out of 10 cases, we can avoid this accident by acting on stress. ”
“We are going to have a second wave”, which does not concern the Covid-19
The head of the cardiology department at the Lille CHU is worried that the French did not consult their doctor during the confinement and consequences it could have. “We are going to have a second wave, it is already appearing, where people return to the hospital for consultations in catastrophic states“, regrets Claire Mounier-Vehier.
In addition, many women with heart failure have been unwilling to go to hospital since the start of confinement, “out of fear of catching the virus“. She therefore calls on the French women to call the Samu in case of” new, brutal, intense symptoms that last “and their attending physician”if you have a headache in the morning and have high blood pressure. “
Heart problems affect all women, all ages, with an increase of 5% per year in hospitalizations for infarction in women under 55 years. The association “Acting for the hearts of women” aims to help women in need with its 3A rules: “Alert, Anticipate, Act“.
