How Do Heart Disease Risk Factors Affect Women and Men?

Gender Makes a Significant Difference in Terms of Risk Factors for Heart Diseases

Cardiovascular disease is one of the most common causes of death for women in the United States and most developed countries, claiming the life of one in four women. Cardiology Specialist Assoc. Dr. Ayça Türer CABBAR pointed out that although the risk is so intense, there is not enough awareness on this issue. Assoc. Prof.CABBAR said that despite the aggressive campaigns of the American Heart Association (AHA) and other organizations, the data of a survey clearly reveals this. Dr. CABBAR said, “Only 54 percent of the women surveyed cited cardiovascular diseases as the leading cause of death for women. "In addition, only 13 percent of the women who participated in the survey defined cardiovascular diseases as a personal risk," She said.
Our expert explained that although there are differences between genders in terms of cardiovascular diseases, risk factors are effective in both genders, and evaluated risk factors such as diabetes, obesity and hypertension in terms of gender.

Diabetes Increases the Risk of Heart Diseases in Women by 3-7 Times

Yeditepe University Hospitals Cardiology Specialist, who said that diabetes, which is an important risk factor for heart diseases, affects women more than men, especially after the age of 60, said that diabetes increases the rate of cardiovascular diseases in female patients three to seven times. “In contrast, men with diabetes have only a two- to threefold increased risk of cardiovascular disease. “Diabetes is also associated with the development of heart failure,” She said.

Our expert said that the rate of hypertension in women over the age of 65 is higher than in men, and that more than 73 percent of women between the ages of 65-74 are diagnosed with hypertension. Our expert said that if a woman is 10 kg or more overweight, if she has a family history of hypertension or if she is post-menopausal, it increases the risk of developing hypertension, She continued: “The risk of both cardiovascular diseases and heart failure is higher in women with hypertension than in men with hypertension. "Although most studies show that treatment reduces this risk, this risk for hypertension-related cardiovascular diseases increases rapidly with age."

Menopause Affects Blood Fats

Pointing out that lipids, that is, blood fats, which are an important factor in terms of heart diseases, are affected by menopause, our expert said, "Pre-menopausal women have low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, that is, bad cholesterol levels, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C, that is, good cholesterol levels) compared to men of the same age." cholesterol levels are higher. “As women get older, LDL-C increases, HDL-C decreases, and triglycerides increase.” She said.

Smoking Increases the Risk of Heart Attack in Women by 6-9 Times!

Pointing out that smoking, which is the most important preventable risk factor for heart diseases, causes more deaths due to cardiovascular disease than other risk factors, our expert pointed out that smoking in women also has an anti-estrogen effect and causes negative changes in lipid levels. Pointing out that the risk of heart attack increases six to nine times in women who smoke compared to non-smokers, our expert said, “In fact, the risk of smoking is equal to the risk of being approximately 42 kg more overweight than a woman who does not smoke. However, with quitting smoking, the risk is reduced by half after 1 year and eventually returns to the risk of a non-smoker.” She said.

“The Risk of Loss of Life Due to Heart Disease Increases with Body Mass Index”

Reminding that more than 30 percent of American women are obese and this figure continues to climb, our expert said, “Obesity and body fat distribution (i.e. abdominal location) in women are independent risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. "The risk of loss of life increases with the body mass index," She said.

Menopause is a Turning Point for Women in Terms of Heart Diseases

Explaining that postmenopausal women probably have more cardiovascular disease risk factors such as obesity, hypertension and hyperlipidemia due to the rapid decline in estrogen levels, our expert continued: “As part of the Ischemic Syndrome Evaluation Study in Women, estrogen deficiency in young women was associated with a 7.4-fold increased risk.” It has been shown to be a strong risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. There was early enthusiasm for the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to prevent cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women, based on data from observational studies. However, many studies in recent years have shown evidence of an increased risk for cardiovascular disease with HRT, such that it is no longer recommended for primary or secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease.”

“As Movement Increases, the Risk of Heart Disease Decreases”

Yeditepe University Hospitals Cardiology Specialist explains that as women get older, they become less physically active than men and says, “This also contributes to weight gain. It paves the way for the development of diabetes and hypertension. Additionally, as estrogen production ceases with menopause, belly fat increases, which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. "However, there is a strong inverse relationship between activity level and the incidence of cardiovascular events," She said.
Stating that traditional risk factors are known to underestimate the risk of cardiovascular diseases in women, the Cardiologist added that for these and other reasons, research is focusing on identifying other new markers that can better define a woman's risk.