Heart disease is the greatest threat to a woman’s health. And while heart disease levels have begun to steadily decline in men, they continue to rise in women.
Heart disease is also deadlier in women. A new analysis found women were 60% more likely to die within a year of their first heart attack than men.1
This under-recognition of heart disease as a woman’s threat puts you in even greater danger because it takes a doctor longer to diagnose a heart attack in a woman – thus, delaying treatment.
One of the biggest issues is a widespread misunderstanding that a heart attack looks the same in everyone. This just isn’t the case. Women often experience completely different symptoms from a heart attack than those normally seen in a man.
Heart attack signs are different in women
The signs considered typical of a heart attack — sharp chest pain, discomfort or pain in the left arm, and shortness of breath — are true in men. These are the “common” symptoms we hear about and recognize as a heart attack. But they’re not common in women. A woman having a heart attack is more likely to experience:
- Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the shoulders, upper back, neck, jaw, or stomach
- Abdominal discomfort that mimics indigestion
- Unusual fatigue
- Dizziness or lightheadedness
- Pain, pressure, squeezing, fullness, or discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing (with or without chest discomfort)
- Breaking out in a cold sweat, dizziness, or lightheadedness
- Nausea or vomiting
- A general feeling that something’s wrong
Sadly, doctors miss heart attack symptoms in women all the time.
A new study in the journal Circulation shows that more than half of doctors don’t realize a woman’s symptoms are heart-related.2
The study looked at 2,009 women and 976 men who had an acute heart attack. About 22.1% of the men and 29.5% of the women said they visited a doctor for their symptoms before their attack. Only 37% of those men said that their doctors did not think their symptoms were heart related. But, 53% of the women were told it wasn’t their heart.
Emergency response to heart attacks in women is changing because it’s a slow process.
You have a better chance of surviving if you know the signs yourself, so you can alert emergency personnel.
Build Your Own Ageless Heart
While knowing the symptoms of heart disease is important, it’s even more important that you protect yourself before a heart attack strikes…
Here’s how you can save yourself from a broken heart…and build a heart that’s truly ageless.
- Supplement with vitamin K2. K2 activates a protein called MGP, which helps prevent hardening of the arteries. Without K2, plaque levels in your body worsen, increasing the risk of atherosclerosis and heart failure.
One study showed that high levels of vitamin K2 lowered the risk of coronary artery disease by 57%. It also lowered calcium buildup in arteries by 52%. And it slashed the risk of death from any cause by 26%.3
The same study also found that populations that get more vitamin K2 in their diets reduce their risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by 50%. It showed that for every daily increase of 10 mcg of K2, the risk of coronary heart disease decreases by 9%.
Unfortunately, most people today are deficient in K2. Some estimates put the number as high as 98%! I suggest supplementing with between 45-90 mcg daily.
- Boost nitric oxide. Nitric oxide (NO) is a colorless gas made by cells in your body that widens blood vessels. Benefits include lower blood pressure, less arterial plaque, and a reduced risk of blood clots.
You can’t supplement with NO. But there are nutrients that will convert into NO in your body. One of the best is L-arginine. This amino acid causes a biochemical reaction that creates nitric oxide and dilates blood vessels.
But after you’ve been using L-arginine for a while, an enzyme starts blocking its conversion into NO. That’s why I suggest adding L-citrulline. It blocks the enzyme so L-arginine continues to make NO.
Take L-arginine and L-citrulline in a 6-to-1 ratio. I recommend daily doses of 6,000 mg of L-arginine and 1,000 mg of L-citrulline. But make sure you buy either arginine or L-arginine. You can find it in capsules or powders. Avoid synthetic L-arginine.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD, CNS
References:
1. Ubrich R, et al. “Sex differences in long-term mortality among acute myocardial infarction patients: Results from the ISAR-RISK and ART studies.” Plos One. 2017 Oct 20;12(10):e0186783.
2. Lichtman J., et al. “Sex Differences in the Presentation and Perception of Symptoms Among Young Patients With Myocardial Infarction: Evidence from the VIRGO Study (Variation in Recovery: Role of Gender on Outcomes of Young AMI Patients).” Circulation. 2018 Feb
3. Johanna M, et al. “Dietary Intake of Menaquinone Is Associated with a Reduced Risk of Coronary Heart Dusease: The Rotterdam Study.” J Nutr. 2004. 134(11); 3100-3105.