Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), which claims the lives of both men & women, is a disease in which cholesterol deposits on the inner wall of heart blood vessels. These blood vessels carry oxygen to heart. When plaque builds up, the oxygen does notreach heart in adequate amount resulting in chest pain & heart attack. CAD can also cause heart failure, arrhythmia (electrical abnormality) and sudden death (SCD).
Women tend to have CAD 10 years later than men but it remains as number 1 killer in women, next only to malignancy. Women are more prone to small disease where in tiny vessels of the heart are diseased or damaged without major cholesterol deposits.
It is thought that fall in oestrogen levels during menopause along with conventional risk factors like hypertension, diabetes, hiugh cholesterol and strong family history of heart disease cause microvascular disease in women.
Ways To Healthy Heart
– Follow a healthy lifestyle
– Exercise regularly and include 30 minutes of walk for atleast 5 days a week
– Maintain a healthy weight: Height in cms minus 100 will give a person’s ideal weight
– Quit smoking and cut down on alcohol consumption
– Go for regular health checkup after 30 years of age
Dr. Rajeshwari Nayak
Senior Consultant,
Interventional Cardiology,
Chennai
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