Women Might Be More Prone to Heart Diseases Than Men – Here’s Why

The Internet is filled with information about the different ways to keep the heart healthy. And it’s only fair since the heart is the epicenter of our circulatory system and is deeply connected to almost every other function in the body.

Being so delicate and critical, it’s imperative to maintain the heart’s health by keeping the blood pressure steady, within 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg. Failure to do so can result in multiple issues, including inadequate oxygen supply to the organs.

Dreamstime | It’s imperative to maintain the heart’s health by keeping the blood pressure steady, within 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg

Now here’s an interesting thing. Did you know that the way a man’s body responds to blood pressure fluctuation is different from the way that a woman’s does? It’s a fact! What’s more, studies have proven that women are more susceptible to heart diseases than men. Join us as we explore why.

How does blood pressure work?

Blood Pressure (BP) is the force that blood creates against the artery walls due to the heart’s pumping motion. The two estimations incorporated to read blood pressure are a systolic and a diastolic pressing factor. Medical science has established that 120 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) is the limit for a typical systolic circulatory strain range among adults. If this limit is crossed, it builds the hazard of cardiovascular illnesses like stroke and heart failures.

What does the research say about heart hazards?

A study conducted on 27,542 participants, among whom 14,873 were women, was able to point out that as compared to men, women were at a higher risk of fatal and nonfatal heart diseases. It was recorded that among such diseases, the most prominent ones were myocardial issues, heart failure, and heart stroke.

Read – Is it a stroke or a heart attack? How to tell

Dreamstime | Studies have pointed out that as compared to men, women are at a higher risk of fatal and nonfatal heart diseases

Post this finding, the scientists used a gender-specific model to measure how women’s BP affects the likelihood of contracting heart diseases. It was found that contrary to the perception that a BP level below 120mmHG is dangerous, for women, BP below 110mmHg was sufficient to trigger severe cardiovascular diseases.

Additionally, the study also discovered that males and females share a similar level of risk at 110-119mmHG and 120-129mmHg when it comes to heart failures. Also, stroke risk is comparable at 120-129mmHG for women and 140-149 for men.

Other studies proving this theory

Since some studies concluded that men displayed a higher threshold for risks when compared to women, researchers carried out another analysis based on race. While 66% of the participants were white, 26% were black and they were further classified on the basis of age.

The researchers found that the approach of one-size-fits-all is more dangerous for women while considering blood pressure. This is because their BP levels elevate faster as compared to men.

Read – 5 Things to Do Every Day to Keep Your Heart Healthy

Pexels | Considering the results of the study, women are advised to be more cautious than men when it comes to heart health maintenance

Wrapping it up

As we grow old, everyone’s main concern is health. To maintain it, we suggest that regardless of your gender, you eat healthily, cut down on salt, quit drinking, and smoking. And if you’re a female, it’s better to be slightly more cautious because a woman’s body works differently than a man.