This discomfort should be taken seriously. “I was told it was a panic attack, in fact I had had two cardiac arrests“. This was confided by Nil, victim of a heart attack. If the diagnosis was not made immediately, it is in particular because many received ideas persist around cardiovascular diseases in women.
However, they are the leading cause of death in women. And this, “well ahead of cancers”, adds Dr. Emmanuelle Berthelot, cardiologist and author of 3 billion beats, the secrets of our heart (ed. of the Rock).
The first received idea? “Men are thought to be more susceptible to cardiovascular disease,” says the cardiologist. However, they are far from being spared: women are more and more affected by cardiovascular diseases.
One change of habits is responsible for this increase: “There are a lot of women smokers, a lot of women who will have diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol, a sedentary lifestyle, overweight”. So many elements that are risk factors known cardiovascular diseases.
Symptoms of a heart attack to know in women
The second misconception concerns the symptoms of what is commonly called a heart attack. “A heart attack is usually described as pain in the chest which is oppressive, which is really internal, which is intense, which will last several minutes and which can radiate in the jaws, in the shoulders, in the arms or a little in the back”, recalls the cardiologist.
However, in women, the manifestations of the infarction can be atypical. Dr. Emmanuelle Berthelot cites the following symptoms: stomach aches, malaise, fainting, shortness of breath, great intense fatigue.
The site of the foundation Agir pour le cœur des femmes, also evokes acute pain in the back or brutal palpitations.
Atypical symptoms, which “give less of a flea in the ear”, underlines the cardiologist. Results : “There is often a delay in diagnosis and unfortunately, the later we are in the diagnosis, the worse the prognosis”. Such events therefore require you to immediately call 15 or 112.
The importance of taking care of your heart daily
Continuing to inform the general public regarding the particularities of cardiovascular diseases in women is therefore essential, as Dr Emmanuelle Berthelot reminds us. “The more we talk regarding it, the more sensitive we will be and the more people will pay attention,” she explains. She also recalls that a “sensitization of the medical profession on the particularities of women” has been made and that “we have made enormous progress in the management of cardiovascular diseases”.
Support that also involves becoming aware of the importance of one’s health on an individual basis. The cardiologist thus advises women over 50 to be screened, by carrying out a Doppler ultrasound, an ultrasound of the heart or even by carrying out a stress test.
But above all, she recommends taking care of your heart on a daily basis. The golden rules to know? “Do not smoke, do physical exercise every day, manger not too salty, not too much sugar, not too much fat, preparing meals rather than buying prepared meals, detecting high blood pressure, treating diabetes, treating excess cholesterol”. Good habits to take to take care of your heart and more generally, your health!
