February 8, 2002 WASHINGTON, DC (Society for Womens Health Research) -- Affairs of the heart take a much more serious toll on women than men, according to research from the landmark Framingham Heart Study. Men reap health benefits from all marriages, happy or unhappy, while female heart health suffers under the stress of bad relationships.
A number of other studies suggest women are physically more vulnerable to marital conflict; for example, a womans blood pressure rises much more than a mans during a fight with a spouse. What's more, women with heart disease are also almost three times more likely to have a second heart attack if they are in a stressful relationship. Depression is an independent risk factor for heart disease in women, noted Nancy Loving, executive director of WomenHeart, a Washington D.C. based advocacy group. Starting in their 40s, women need to get complete exams [that include] evaluation of mental and heart health.
Until recently, most research on heart disease was conducted exclusively on men. The Framingham Heart Study is one of the few, large, long-term studies of cardiovascular disease that has included both men and women from the start. Researchers have studied more than 5,000 men and women and their offspring from Framingham, a Boston suburb, since 1948. Their efforts have revealed a number of risk factors and symptoms of heart disease unique to women, while teaching the world much of what is now known about women and cardiovascular disease.
Framingham researchers were the first to identify many of the major risk factors for heart disease including high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, smoking, obesity, diabetes and a sedentary lifestyle. Framingham also demonstrated that high levels of triglycerides or fats in the blood and low levels of HDL-cholesterol (the good cholesterol) boost the risk of heart disease. Furthermore, Framingham confirmed that increasing age and psychosocial issues such as personality type and stress level increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Experts also know that men and women have different risk factors and symptoms of heart disease. Men develop cardiovascular disease an average of 10 years earlier than women but women are more likely to die from heart disease once they are affected. In addition, type 2 diabetes is a more potent risk factor for heart disease in women than in men. Framingham also confirmed that menopause is accompanied with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke and worsening of the disease.
