Summer 2007	Battle of the Sexes
Look Out for These Heart Disease Symptoms The sexes have one thing in common: Spotting heart disease symptoms can prevent an attack and save your life. Warning signs include: • chest pain — known as angina — ranging from mild to severe • shortness of breath • extreme fatigue • swelling in your feet or ankles • palpitations • a feeling of heaviness, pain, tightness, burning or pressure behind your breastbone or in your arms, neck or jaw For more information about heart disease, log on to My HealtheVet at www.myhealth.va.gov. Why Your Gender Determines How You Should Care for Your Heart When it comes to heart health, men and women are not created equally. For starters, men have the distinct disadvantage of being more prone to a serious cardiac event, such as a heart attack, at a younger age than women — about 20 years younger. But, Women, Take Note: It’s true that before menopause, estrogen helps protect you against heart disease. But once menopause takes hold and your estrogen levels plummet, your odds of suffering a heart attack rise sharply. Even more troubling, women don’t fare as well as the opposite sex after a heart attack or after a coronary procedure, such as bypass surgery or angioplasty. Their advanced age is one likely reason; procedures and medications designed largely with men in mind, another. Why Sex Matters Women don’t always suffer from the same heart attack symptoms as men and so may deny they’re having a heart attack. Women take longer — about a halfhour longer — to seek help at an emergency room. Consequently, they’re also less likely than men to be admitted to the hospital for evaluation of coronary artery disease and tend to be underdiagnosed. While women may be aware of the classic signs of an attack, such as chest pain radiating down the left arm and difficulty breathing, they aren’t aware of symptoms they’re more likely to experience. In fact, one-third of women experience the following symptoms, often with no chest pain at all: • sudden onset of severe weakness • stomach upset or nausea with passing weakness • mild burning sensation in the middle of the chest that extends outward • vague chest discomfort • palpitations, cold sweats or paleness What’s a Woman — or Man — to Do? These simple lifestyle changes can dramatically reduce your heart disease risk: • Don’t smoke. • Maintain a healthy body weight. • Eat a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet and limit your salt intake. • If your cholesterol is high, lower it. • Control high blood pressure. • Keep diabetes under control. • Limit your alcohol use. • Exercise regularly.
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