​Heart attack: Women are more likely to succumb to heart attack than men, finds study​

As per the data shared by the World Health Organisation (WHO), every year close to 18 million lives are lost due to heart diseases like coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, rheumatic heart disease and other conditions.

Several researchers have worked on the nature of the diseases, how it starts and progresses in people in order to advance the treatment and diagnosis.

A new study has found that women are twice as likely to die from heart attack than men. The retrospective observational study studied 884 patients of which 27% were women.

The study from Portugal was presented at Heart Failure 2023, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

For the research, 884 patients having ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), one of the most serious types of heart attack, were studied.

In case of STEMI the coronary artery is 100% blocked and this cuts off the heart's blood supply for a longer duration.

The patients who were studied for the research purpose had angioplasty within 48 hours of their symptoms.

The study found that women were 2.8 times more likely to die from heart attack than men.

Among the participants women had elevated blood pressure, diabetes and stroke whereas men were more likely to be smokers and had coronary artery disease.

The researchers found that after 30 days, 11.8 percent women had succumbed to the heart attack in comparison to 4.6 percent men. Within five years, 34.2% of women had died.

The major adverse cardiac event or MACE was seen less in men and more aggressive in women.

All-cause death, reinfarction, hospitalizations for heart failure, and stroke were considered as MACE.

Following this, the researchers analysed a subset of 435 patients who were 55 years and older. "Ultimately, 11.3% of women died within 30 days compared with 3% of men. After five years, 32.9% of women had died compared to 15.8% of men, and 34.1% of women experienced a MACE compared to 17.6% of men," Medical News Today reported citing the study.

"Women of all ages who experience a myocardial infarction are at particularly high risk of a poor prognosis," Dr Mariana Martinho, lead author of the new study, from Hospital Garcia de Orta in Portugal, told Daily Mail.

"These women need regular monitoring after their heart event, with strict control of blood pressure, cholesterol levels and diabetes, and referral to cardiac rehabilitation," she added.

"Smoking levels are rising in young women and this should be tackled, along with promoting physical activity and healthy living," she told the media.

The US CDC lists the following signs of heart attack in women.

Signs like chest pain or discomfort, upper back or neck pain, indigestion, heartburn, nausea or vomiting, extreme fatigue, dizziness, and shortness of breath should not be ignored.

Do not delay visiting your doctor if you regularly feel a fluttering sensation in the chest.

Swelling of ankles, legs and abdomen are also indications of heart attack.
​Nitesh Pandey's death due to cardiac arrest brings attention to why premature deaths due to this heart condition are on the rise​