Question: Are men and women different when it comes to heart disease?

Answer: Recent research suggests that the cardiovascular system for men and women is different, which leads to different responses by the body to heart-related illness.

Question: Are women protected from heart disease because of their hormones?

Answer: In general, men show signs of cardiovascular disease about 10 years earlier than women do. Women usually get heart disease later than men because female hormones can offer special protection for the heart while they are premenopausal. But by age 65, women are even more likely than men to develop high blood pressure, which is a heart disease risk factor.

Question: What about the foods I eat - do they make a difference?

Answer: Definitely. Olive oil raises good HDL and lowers your risk of heart disease. Use whole-grain carbohydrates such as whole-wheat bread and brown rice rather than refined ones such as white bread and white rice. Also, eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetable.

Question: What are the risk factors for heart disease besides high cholesterol?

Answer: Risk factors include smoking, diabetes, blood pressure higher than 135/85, family history of early heart disease, premature menopause (before age 38), overweight and sedentary lifestyle.

Question: How are the symptoms of heart attack different for women?

Answer: Instead of crushing chest pain, women may have lighter chest, stomach or abdominal pain, nausea or dizziness, shortness of breath, heart palpitation, fatigue, weakness, or back or jaw pain.

Question: What should I do if I experience any of these (or more severe) symptoms?

Answer: Call 911 immediately. This is the fastest way to get lifesaving treatment. The Parrish Medical Center Emergency Department (ED) staff can begin treatment when you arrive. They are also trained to revive someone whose heart has stopped. All patients who arrive at the ED with chest pain will receive immediate care. Do not drive yourself to the hospital.

Question: How will Parrish Medical Center (PMC) help me if I have heart disease?

Answer: Cardiac services at PMC are being expanded and the new hospital addition will be complete in early 2008. Currently, PMC and the cardiologists on staff offer many treatments for a variety of heart health issues, including cardiac catheterization, emergency coronary angioplasty and stenting, periphial angiography, angioplasty, stenting and atherectomy, carotid angioplasty, permanent pacemakers including biventricular pacemakers and implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs), cardiac and peripheral ultrasound including endocardiograph, carotid artery and lower extremity arterial studies, cardiac rehabilitation, stress testing, and all routine cardiac tests and treatments.

By Ravi Rao, M.D., Medical Director of PMC’s Cardiovascular Services, board-certified in Cardiovascular Disease, Nuclear Cardiology, Interventional Cardiology and Internal Medicine.