Heart Ailment Seems
Under-Recognized in Women
Compared to men, women with a hereditary
heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy are substantially
more likely to be diagnosed later in life and with more severe
symptoms, an Italian study indicates.
This occurs despite the fact that hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
"should theoretically be present in males and females equally,"
Dr. Iacopo Olivotto stated, because it is a genetic disease with
an inheritance pattern that requires only one parent to have the
condition.
People with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) suffer from progressive
weakening of the heart, which becomes enlarged in an attempt to
compensate.
Among nearly 1000 consecutive HCM patients seen at three institutions
in Italy and the U.S. there was a 3-to-2 predominance of men vs.
women, "consistent with most previous clinical reports showing
a male majority," Olivotto from Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria
Careggi in Florence and colleagues note in the Journal of the
American College of Cardiology.
Compared with men, women with HCM were significantly older on
average at the first evaluation (47 vs. 38 years) and more symptomatic.
During an average of 6 years of follow up, female patients with
HCM had a 50 percent greater risk of progression to severe heart
failure or death from heart failure or stroke, compared with their
male counterparts.
"Although other explanations may exist ... the main reason for
this gender-related bias appears to be social," Olivotto stated.
"Both in Italy and in the U.S., women with HCM are less likely
to be identified in the course of routine screenings related to
recreational or professional activities, and are only diagnosed
when symptoms appear," the researcher explained.
"The message we would like to convey is that in genetic cardiac
diseases, as for coronary artery disease, there is a need for
enhanced awareness among women and their physicians," he stressed.
As he pointed out, an early diagnosis is particularly important
in order to avert sudden cardiac death in patients with hypertrophic
cardiomyopathy.
SOURCE: Journal of the American College of Cardiology, August
2, 2005.
Reference
Source 89
August
26, 2005
For
more information on how to prevent other diseases, use
PreventDisease.com's "Quick
Prevention Resources".
|
