You ask Mrs. Heart more questions...
Dr. You: Have you ever thought that your pain could be due to heart problems?
Mrs. Heart: Never! I thought that heart disease occurred only in men... my son experienced angina, but I don’t think that my pain was like his.
Mrs. Heart: I have always feared breast cancer, since my mother died of cancer 10 years ago and I never thought that I should worry for my heart...
In a report from the Heart and Stroke Foundation National Omnibus Survey, it was documented that 60% of women felt breast cancer was the leading cause of death among women in Canada, whereas 17% identified heart disease as the major cause of mortality in Canadian women [1]. Likewise, in a national telephone survey in United States 58% of women believed they were as likely, or more likely, to die of breast cancer than coronary artery disease. In the same survey, 50% of women over 45 years of age reported that their doctor had never talked to them about heart disease[2]. Awareness of CVD in women has increased, although a significant gap between perceived and actual risk of CVD remains.[4] As physicians, we can be better at recognizing the frequency and importance of coronary artery disease in women and talking about it with those we care for.
_________________________________
1. HSFO- (2003) Facts and Stats Online- Document #1040- Women, Heart Disease and Stroke. Available at URL: http://www.hsfpe.org/1040.htm
2. Legato, M.J., Padus, E., Slaughter E. (1997) Women's Perceptions of their General Health, with Special Reference of their Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: Results of National Telephone Survey. Journal of Women's Health, 6: 189-198.
4. Mosca L, et al. Tracking women's awareness of heart disease. Circulation. 2004;109:573-579.
