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Coronary Artery Disease – Are Women At Greater Risk?

Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) one of the major cardiac disorder that is affecting many. Coronary artery disease is narrowing of the blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart.  This is caused when fat is built up and plaque is formed together with other substances on the vessel walls making it difficult for a free flow of oxygen and blood to the heart.  The building of plaque in the vessel is also called hardening of arteries.  Coronary artery disease is a risk factor for heart disease for both men and women.

Recent research has show that women, with extensive coronary artery plaque, are at a greater risk than men for heart attack or other major cardiac event.  The findings on coronary CT angiography (CTA), a non-invasive test to assess the coronary arteries for blockages, done on patients showed different risk scenarios for men and women.   The research was done and conducted by Radiological Society of North America.  The result of the researchers at Medical University of South Carolina who had analyzed the results of coronary CTA conducted on 480 patients with a mean age 55 and who were suffering with acute chest pain.   Of the 480 patients, 65% were women patients.  The possibility of acute coronary syndrome was ruled out for each of the patients.  The researchers used coronary CTA to determine the number of vessel segments with plaque, the severity of the blockage and the composition of the plaque. John W Nance from John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore said “The latest CT scanners are able to produce images that allow us to determine whether the plaque is calcified, non-calcified or mixed”.

The data collected by comparing the coronary CTA results over a 12.8-month follow-up period, the researchers were able to correlate the extent, severity and type of plaque build-up with the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events such as a heart attack or coronary bypass surgery.  The statistical analysis tested all plaques combined (calcified, non-calcified and mixed), and each individual type of plaque separately.

Dr. Nance said “We found that the risks for cardiovascular events associated with plaque were significantly different between women and men,” and had observed that 70 of the patients experienced major adverse cardiac events such as death, heart attack and unstable angina in the follow up period.  When the data was compared and analysis was done, results showed that women, with a large amount of plaque build-up, were at a significantly greater cardiovascular risk than men.  ”This research tells us that extensive coronary plaque is more worrisome in women than the equivalent amount in men,” Dr. Nance said.  However, when analyzing risk factors associated with the presence of individual types of plaque, the risk for major adverse cardiac events was greater in men when their artery segments contained non-calcified plaque.

Symptoms of Coronary Artery Disease

Although many symptoms are noticeable, it is also possible that a person may have the disease but does not have any symptoms of coronary heart disease.  The most common symptom of coronary artery disease is angina (also called angina pectoris). Angina is often referred to as chest pain and felt through various related symptoms such as chest discomfort, heaviness, tightness, pressure, aching, burning, numbness, feeling as though heart is squeezed.  Angina is usually felt in the chest, but may also be felt in the left shoulder, arms, neck, back or jaw.

Some other symptoms of coronary artery disease include difficulty in breathing, fatigue, weakness, heavy pain in the chest while lifting objects, difficulty during climbing stairs, walking long distances, jogging short distances, faster heartbeat, dizziness and sweating, nausea, extreme weakness.

Coronary artery disease if treated in the beginning when symptom shows up, it may save one from chances of getting heart attack.  If a person has pain in the chest, left arm or back pain that lasts more than 5 minutes, with one or more of the symptoms mentioned above, quick treatment is very important to reduce the amount of damage to your heart.  Click here to find treatment.