Women and heart disease

Hello,

I was just wondering if you could tell me why men recieve more  aggressive treatment,when comes to heart disease, Then women do c/o of the same symptoms. When alot of articles out there say women are more likly to die from a heart attack then men. If this is the case, should'nt the same aggressive measures be taken for women.  

Also,could you please tell me what variant angina pectoris is,and what can be done about it.



Thanks

Marina*

[CCF-M.D.-RCJ]

Marina*,

Thanks for the post.

Traditionally, say 20 years ago and longer, the prevailing wisdom in medicine was that women had significantly less heart disease, and when they did, that it was less severe.  Research over the past 15 years has clearly demonstrated that this is not the case, and as you stated, women are at higher risk for complications from both the consequences of coronary disease and its treatments.

However, modern health care providers do not share the "traditional" view.  We certainly would encourage you to seek care from someone who takes your heart care seriously, as we do here at CCF, or at most other major centers.

Variant Angina pectoris is a fancy term for atypical chest pain -- meaning chest pain that is not typical for what we see with most patients who have chest pain from their heart.  Women and the elderly more commonly present with atypical chest pain.

Hope that helps.