Wear red Friday for heart disease awareness

PANAMA CITY — Women statistically dismiss symptoms of cardiac events and heart disease later than their male counterparts, resulting in a higher mortality rate.

Friday is National Wear Red Day to raise awareness of the fact that more women die of heart disease than all forms of cancer combined and it is the number one killer of women, according to the American Heart Association.

“Women tend to focus on their other responsibilities like taking care of their families, and they can miss the warning signs of a massive heart attack,” said Dr. Amir Haghighat, a cardiologist with Cardiology Associates.

One of the reasons for the wear red day is to raise awareness of the differences in symptoms for women, which tend to be more subtle than in men.

“Women are different because their symptoms are different,” said Dr. Nayan Bhatt, a cardiologist with Heart South. “The classic symptom for men is chest pressure, while in women it can often be chest pain, shortness of breath and arm pain.”

Treatment for women suffering from a cardiac event or heart disease are the same. Women are more likely to have damage to their heart muscle due to long-term depletion of blood to the heart, Bhatt said.

“When you look at the statistics of people who present late, they are women and it increases their mortality rate,” Bhatt said. “There is no cure for heart disease so prevention is” key.

Prevention measures for heart disease are similar for men and women and include healthy eating, not smoking and regular exercise. Some risk factors that cannot be changed include genetics and family history of heart disease.

Women are encouraged to learn about the symptoms of heart disease and to not ignore pain and symptoms.

“When we, as doctors, see women, we want to write it off as something else,” Haghighat said. “Sometimes primary care providers think the symptoms can be for something else and sometimes women need to be their own advocates and ask for a stress test.”

There is no recommended age when women should get a stress test. Women, like all people, are encouraged to know their cholesterol level and blood pressure and seek medical advice when there are changes. It is not uncommon for women to put off calling 911 if they think they are suffering from gastrointestinal problems when it really is a heart attack, Haghighat said.

“Seek advice whenever you think something is not right,” Bhatt said. “False alarms are OK; it’s better than putting it off and presenting late.”

A resource for more information includes the American Heart Association and womenheart.org.

“The misconception is that only old men get heart disease,” Haghighat said.