Watch out ladies, lest your heart may betray you

Doctors say that cardiac problem in women, aged between 27 and 40, is becoming very common.

When Anisha Tewari, 29, was admitted to Bombay Hospital after she complained of chest discomfort a few months ago, her parents never expected the doctor to suggest an angiography. They were more astonished to learn that her left main artery was 90% blocked. It was later discovered that apart from being a diabetic, Anisha was also a heavy smoker. An angioplasty (widening of obstructed blood vessels) was performed on her and two arteries were unblocked subsequently.

Gone are the times when it was believed that women below 45 were unlikely to develop heart problem. In fact, doctors now warn that this notion needs to change urgently as an astonishing number of young women are suffering from cardiac problems. 

Last week, 36-year-old Andrea Rustam (name changed) had to be rushed to LH Hiranandani Hospital, Powai, at 2 am when the pain in her chest became unbearable.

Dr AV Ganesh Kumar, the consultant cardiologist who treated her, said one of her major arteries was 100% choked. “We performed an emergency angioplasty to prevent an attack,” he said. It was not smoking in Rustam’s case. Her underlying stress culminated into a massive cardiac blockage, the doctor said.

According to cardiologists in the city, these are not one-off cases. “Till about 15 years ago, just 36 cases of coronary artery disease in women were reported in the world literature,” said Dr Vijay Bang, consultant interventional cardiologist, Lilavati Hospital. “But now, the incidence of cardiac problem in menstruating women in the age-group of 27 to 40 is very common,” he added.

Studies across the globe have revealed that every minute, an average of 16 wo-men die due to cardiovascular diseases.

“Heart disease is one of the major threats to woman’s health in India. It  causes one out of three deaths as compared to one out of 30 dying of breast cancer,” said Dr Ashish Contractor,  head of cardiac prevention and rehabilitation department, Asian Heart Institute. “Unfortunately,heart problems in youngsters will see a 200 fold increase by the next decade.”

Experts believe the risks posed by lifestyle changes are overpowering the protection of estrogen hormone that woman benefit from till they menstruate. “Estrogen is responsible for strengthening of arteries but now even its presence is not providing enough protection,” said Dr NO Bansal, head of cardiology department, JJ Hospital.

Doctors believe that some of the risk factors which usually affected men are now being commonly found in women. “Smoking, erratic working hours, obesity and stress have moved on from the man’s domain to that of the women, and so have the ailments attached to these,” added Bansal.

A study conducted by Bombay Hospital, involving 5,000 cardiac patients, showed that mortality is higher in women who get heart attack before 40 years of age.

“This could be because even if a woman shows all the classical symptoms of a heart problem, it is assumed to be something else,” said Dr BK Goyal, director, interventional cardiology, Bombay Hospital. He added that nowadays every one out of five patients is a woman, including those who have not reached menopause.

Some also believe that the use, or rather abuse, of oral contraceptive pills might elevate the risk of cardiac problems in woman. “The pills to some extent have hormonal repercussions and that is gradually being considered as one of the risk factors,” said Dr Brian Pinto, consultant cardiologist, Holy Family Hospital.