Hospitalization and Deaths Caused by Heart Attacks More Common among Young Women: Study
Female heart patients are more likely to have longer hospital stays and high risk of dying from cardiac arrest, finds a study.
Although cardiovascular illnesses and coronary heart diseases are more common among men, it can result in serious health complications and early mortality in young women. Experts at the Yale School of Medicine found young women who survived heart attacks tend to have longer hospital stays and increased chances of dying compared to their male counter parts. Their research examined medical records of heart attack patients aged between 30 and 54 during 2001 and 2010.
Their analysis revealed a 20 percent drop in the overall hospitalization rates for individuals younger than 50. But, the number of young women seeking treatments and care from hospitals for heart attacks rose from 28,681 in 2001 to 31,777 during 2010. Even though the data revealed higher hospitalization rate for men, the figures significantly dropped over the years from 87,084 to 86,734, reports the Live Science News.
"This trend suggests we need to raise awareness of the importance of controlling cardiovascular risk factors like diabetes, high blood pressure and smoking in younger patients," said Aakriti Gupta, study author and researcher at the Yale School of Public Health in a news release.
In addition, the study recorded pre-existing health conditions like hypertension and diabetes increased in all subjects along with their heart problems. Majority of men suffered from high cholesterol levels while women, particularly those from African-American communities, had erratic blood pressure, heart failure and diabetes.
This study urges young women to keep a tab of their health status and control blood pressure, cholesterol and fat levels by incorporating healthy habits and lifestyle. The authors also recommend the younger population to remain physically active and cut down intake of alcohol and tobacco products to curb obesity, heart diseases and stroke.
"Younger women are a vulnerable yet understudied group with worse cardiac risk profiles and worse outcomes after a heart attack as compared with younger men," added Gupta.
More information is available online in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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