Younger Women Fail to Heed Heart Attack's Warning Signs

Focusing on chest pain may not be enough, experts warn

By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter

Related Encyclopedia • Alzheimer's Disease • Amenorrhea • Amniocentesis • Amniocentesis and CVS More... Related Healthscout Videos Preventing Breast Cancer Tracking Breast Cancer Treatment Howard: The Helping Hand for Stroke Survivors Easier Radiation for Breast Cancer More... Related Animations • Alzheimer's Disease Video Animation • Angioplasty • Animation: What is Hypertension? • Breast Reduction More... Related Drug Information • Accupril • Actonel • Altace • Avapro More... Related News Articles • Diabetes Seems to Heighten Glaucoma Risk • Health Tip: Healing Mentally After a Heart Attack • Health Tip: Activities for People With Alzheimer's • New Targets Found That Stop Tumor Growth More...

THURSDAY, May 10 (HealthDay News) -- Women under the age of 55 often fail to recognize the symptoms of a heart attack until it's too late, a new study warns.

Ignoring those signs -- which can include anything from chest pain to nausea -- can delay medical care and increase risks for disability and even death.

Text Continues Below

---

"Women of this age range, when they go into the hospital with heart disease or a heart attack, their likelihood of dying from that event is two times that of a man," noted Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of Women & Heart Disease at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "Heart disease in young women is a very, very aggressive disease, and it needs to be addressed early and aggressively."

But experts also cautioned that the study was a small one, and that the subject also needs more research.

"We can't make conclusions with 24 patients," said Dr. Nieca Goldberg, medical director of the Women's Health Program at New York University Medical Center and author of The Women's Healthy Heart Program. "I think we need to learn more about the range of symptoms."

The findings were expected to be presented Thursday at the American Heart Association's scientific forum on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke, in Washington, D.C.

Heart disease among women is widespread, accounting for one in three female deaths, experts say.

Although women younger than 55 years make up less than 5 percent of all hospitalized heart disease patients, this is still a large number of women, according to the AHA. Young women with heart disease account for about 40,000 hospitalizations each year and 16,000 deaths.

The number of younger women who die from coronary heart disease each year is about equivalent to the number of women who die of breast cancer in the same age group, the association says.

Page:  1 | 2 | 3 | Next >>