|
February
2002
No Magic Arrow
Most women still believe that the biggest threat
to their health and mortality is breast cancer, and while that is
a most legitimate concern, and while medical science is properly
advancing toward better treatment, it is heart disease that remains
the No. 1 killer of women -- as it is for men.
Heart disease in women deserves special attention
because we are only recently learning that it affects women differently
from men in both its physiological and its diagnostic manifestations.
That's why the February edition of the Center's Facts of Life issues
briefing looks at women's heart health -- from the point of view
of biology, hormones and anger.
Because they bear children, women have some natural
protection from heart disease until menopause, which means they
tend to develop it about 10 years later in life than men. The blood
vessels themselves may differ in women, and the onset of a heart
attack may be disguised as mere indigestion in a woman instead of
the crushing chest pain typically felt by men. Even though the incidence
of cardiovascular disease is about the same for women as men, women
with heart disease are more likely than men to die, become disabled
or have a repeat heart attack.
The fact is that more than half of women alive
today will die of either stroke or, literally, a broken heart.
In the past, women's symptoms have been ignored
or routinely underdiagnosed, and they didn't get proper treatment.
That is starting to change now.
Tremendous advances are being made in surgical
interventions and pharmacology. And as Dr. Mary Corretti, one of
the experts contributing to the current Facts of Life, emphasizes,
it is never too early to quit smoking and adopt healthier diets
and exercise habits. But it's more than that. Behavior changes by
physicians and insurance companies must occur, also. There is a
wealth of new knowledge that can help identify and better treat
heart disease in women; the task is to put this new evidence into
practice.
We like to say around here that there are no magic
bullets for improved health. It takes sustained effort to engage
in and maintain healthy behaviors, not only by individuals but by
the medical profession making use of new knowledge and by insurance
companies covering behavior change efforts. This American Heart
Month, let us also remember that when it comes to a woman's heart,
there is no single magic arrow either -- from Cupid or anyone else.
|
