The general secretary of the Dominican Society of Cardiology and president of the Committee on Cardiovascular Disease in Women of the Circle of Graduates of the Dominican Institute of Cardiology (Ceidoca), doctor Rosa Noemi Cueto, affirmed that in women the symptoms of cardiovascular diseases are more varied and scattered than in men, which often leads them to think that they suffer from any other disease, and not to examine their condition in the first instance heart.
Cueto cited as an example that during a heart attack, women may feel pain in the neck, chest or arm, areas that may not sound the necessary alarm bells that a life-threatening event is on the way. In contrast, men tend to feel more localized pain in the center of the chest, with other accompanying manifestations.
Along with breast cancer, cervical cancer and lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases are those that cause the largest number of deaths among women.
According to the specialist, the latest data recorded in the Dominican Republic states that, In 2019, 29,275 females died and of these, 12,129 were specifically due to cardiovascular causes, representing 41.43% of all deaths.
Ischemic heart disease was the most frequent for 21.39% of deaths in men and 22.16% in women, followed by stroke in 10.5% of men and 13.03% of women and hypertensive heart disease in 2.36% of men. and 3.14% of women.
The cardiologist and internist understands that cardiovascular diseases in women continue to be little studied, underdiagnosed and undertreated.
When consulted by Diario Libre, Cueto clarifies that most of the heart disease they are not hereditaryonly 5 to 10% of cases are usually of genetic origin.
“Although not everyone who has a family history of heart disease will necessarily suffer from it, it is important to pay attention to it since they are more likely to develop one of these diseases. For example, it is known that the children of those who have suffered a heart attack before the age of 65 are 2 to 3 times more likely to suffer from heart, brain or vascular disease. And the risk increases if the antecedents are greater. Therefore, if you have a history in your family tree, you should be more careful than normal to prevent these cases during your life, ”said the also echocardiographer.
Anyone is exposed to suffering from hypertensionboth men and women, internationally men suffer from it more than women, but in the Dominican Republic it is more frequent in women.
“The ENPREFAR HAS 2017 survey showed that in the country, 29.7% of men were hypertensive and women the percentage increases to 32%.”cardiologist
Cardiovascular health During pregnancy
Dr. Cueto emphasizes that “the woman’s entire body is transformed during pregnancy, and the heart is not an exception”.
During the period of pregnancy, the work demands of the heart due to the increase in blood volume in the woman’s body. Cardiac output (volume of blood pumped by the heart per minute) grows about 50%. At the end of pregnancy, the uterus receives one fifth of the total blood volume. As a consequence, the heart rate (the number of beats per minute) increases at rest, from 60-70 beats per minute to 80-90.
“All of these physiological changes occur to maintain the viability of the pregnancy and the fetus and require that the woman’s body be as best prepared and as healthy as possible,” she clarified.
Risks after menopause
The risk of heart disease increases for everyone as we age, but for women the symptoms may be more noticeable after the onset of menopause.
On average, the onset of menopause occurs from the age of 45.
“In general, an increase in heart attacks has been observed among women 10 years after menopause. During menopause, the ovaries stop producing estrogen, a hormone that controls the menstrual cycle. Estrogen can also help keep blood vessels strong and smooth. Menopause does not cause heart disease, but its occurrence increases the conditions and risk factors that can lead to heart disease. heart”, points out the doctor.
Obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular health
Dr. Cueto testifies that there is “a relationship that is directly proportional between obesity and heart diseaseas has been shown in extensive medical literature.
Obesity contributes directly to incident cardiovascular risk factors, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemias.
“The most important focus is to maintain a proper weight,” he said.
