Heart Harmony: Winning the battle against heart disease
While heart disease is the leading killer of both men and women, many women still mistakenly believe that it is a problem that primarily targets men. Heart disease, in fact, is the “largest single cause of mortality among women, accounting for 38 percent of all deaths among females,” according to the American Heart Association (AHA). It is a health issue that strikes the young, the elderly and every race and ethnicity, and there are plenty of myths to accompany it.
Age is Just a Number
Heart disease isn’t just the commonly known stroke or heart attack; congenital heart disease also strikes women from birth. Niki Bateman, now a 13-year-old student at Mountain State Christian School in Culloden, was born with Wolf’s Parkinson’s White Syndrome, a condition in which additional nerves send messages to the heart to beat, causing excessive heart beats.
“She was placed in a coma until physicians could figure out her medication,” says Tamara Bateman, Niki’s mother. “They told us that she could even die.” Niki is a survivor who today enjoys being a regular kid, going to school and spending time with her family. She regularly takes medication to moderate her heart beats and must watch her diet. She and her mother try to warn others that heart disease is something everyone must be aware of.
“Most people think heart disease is just for older people, but there are kids and others out there that have heart disease problems every day. I’m hoping with Niki it makes more people aware that there are kids with heart problems and not only older people,” says Tamara. “I used to think it was only the elderly, but with Niki it opened my eyes.” She hopes that by sharing her daughter’s story she will be able to bring an awareness that did not exist before.
Niki, who is looking forward to playing softball next year, echoes her mother’s warnings for women who don’t recognize the hidden dangers of heart disease. “Most people won’t start going to a cardiologist for many years or until there is a problem, but these problems can develop at any time in their life,” she explains.
The AHA warns that in America, it is estimated that 36.6 percent of women live with heart disease and the number of women at risk is even larger. In West Virginia alone, 3,200 women died of heart disease in 2003, versus 2,797 men, according to the West Virginia Bureau of Public Health. In comparison, 300 women die each year of breast cancer in West Virginia while 3,000 will die of heart disease, most commonly a heart attack.
The Danger for Women
Over the past 10 years, heart attack survival has improved due to clot-buster medications, but in one study 30 percent of women came to the hospital too late for effective treatment with the medications. In addition, only 16 percent of women screened were eligible to use clot-buster medications compared with 25 percent of men.
Of those women who were eligible, only 55 percent received clot busting drugs in comparison to 78 percent of men. The study reports that it was not clear whether this difference was due to patient or physician refusal or failure of the emergency room staff to offer proper medications or other causes. The survival rate for women does improve with these drugs, but not to the same extent as men and it is not known why. In addition, the AHA also reports that women are four times more likely to die of complications after surgical intervention like angioplasty and bypass surgery.
Many times the method by which men are diagnosed with heart disease is not as successful with women. For instance, treadmills have been used in the past for both sexes in order to determine the existence of heart disease because the treadmill allows physicians to study the patient’s stress levels, which can be a clear indicator of heart problems. Thirty-five percent of the women whose stress levels have been studied via treadmill use have received abnormal test results that have implicated sex hormones as a factor when in relation to phases of the menstrual cycle and the use of oral contraceptives. Stress tests induced by drugs rather than exercise on a treadmill may be preferable since many elderly women cannot endure the physical demands.
With so many complications involved with diagnosis and treatment, it seems the key to fighting heart disease in women is preventive measures and the fact that identifying high-risk women for heart disease is much easier.
Education is Key to Prevention
The authors of the 2007 Guidelines for Preventing Cardiovascular Disease in Women wrote that “nearly all women are at risk for CVD (cardiovascular disease)” and the authors also emphasized the\ “importance of a heart-healthy lifestyle in everyone.” The report cites a recent AHA survey which showed women are often confused about proper methods to prevent heart disease including the role of aspirin, hormones and dietary supplements.
Lori Mosca, M.D., Ph.D. and chair of the AHA’s expert panel that wrote the new guidelines, says they reinforce the fact that unregulated dietary supplements are not a method proven to prevent heart disease. As an example, Lori says studies have shown that folic acid is ineffective in protecting the heart even though it is widely suggested by physicians and used by patients hoping it will be beneficial. The AHA repeats the common recommendations on lifestyle factors, such as physical activity, nutrition and smoking cessation as well as more in-depth recommendations on drug treatments for blood pressure and cholesterol control, are necessary in prevention.
Even those born with heart-related health issues warn women that a healthy lifestyle is important in this battle. “The main thing is to draw attention to this problem, especially among women. It is their silent killer,” says Rhonda Davis, the director of marketing at Jackson General Hospital in Ripley. “I can attribute its causes to knowing what its like to be a busy working mother—lots of fast food and little time to exercise—but we have to begin paying attention to what we eat and what we do to our bodies.”
Born with a congenital heart defect and currently using an artificial valve in her own heart, Rhonda is actively promoting the education of women on heart health issues and the establishment of the annual Jackson County Heart Walk in February 2008. “In my case I didn’t really have a choice, but other women can certainly be aware and work to prevent heart disease. I hope it is something they think about every day. It’s best if it can be prevented,” she says. “People see me and think I’m perfectly happy and healthy. You can’t look at a woman and tell she has heart disease.”
