The way to a woman's (healthy) heart

New research on what to do -- and not to do -- to lower women's risk of heart disease provides an updated base for treatment decisions.

By Susan J. Landers, AMNews staff. March 12, 2007.

Washington -- Revised American Heart Assn. guidelines are intended to stop trouble before it starts.

The directive, "Evidence-Based Guidelines for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Women: 2007 Update," urges physicians and their female patients to focus early on lowering risks as the best way to cut the high toll taken by cardiovascular death and disability. The document was posted online Feb. 19 and scheduled to appear in the March 13 Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Assn.

These guidelines also offer the latest thinking on aspirin use, exercise, hormone therapy and dietary supplements in preventing heart disease. Cardiovascular disease is the largest single cause of death among women worldwide, accounting for 38% of all female deaths, according to the authors. Plus, thanks to medical advances, 42 million women are living with cardiovascular disease in the United States, making the need for guidance vital.

The need for such guidelines exists because physicians should take a different approach to women's heart health for reasons both physical and social, said Paula Miller, MD, director of the Women's Heart Program at the University of North Carolina.

Women's vascular systems are different from men's; women's blood vessels are smaller, and estrogen levels are protective until menopause, she noted. Women also tend to be more isolated and may be less affluent and eat less nutritious food. Plus, awareness of risk continues to be low.