Heart Attacks Are Different In Women

Heart disease kills more people of both sexes than all cancers combined. More women than men have died from heart disease in the U.S. every year since 1984, and they are twice as likely as men to die after a heart attack yet modern medicine is still trying to figure out the difference between men and women.

According to the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) women are far more likely than men to be hospitalized for chest pain for which doctors can't find a cause. In 2006 there were 477,000 women discharged from U.S. hospitals with a diagnosis of nonspecific chest pain, compared with 379,000 men. This is important because that diagnosis is often given to patients who are admitted for a possible heart attack that turns out not to be one.

The problem is that heart attacks often look different in women than men. While both frequently report chest pain, pressure or tightness, women more often have subtle signs. These may include dizziness, nausea, breathlessness, aches in the back, shoulders or abdomen, sudden weakness or fatigue or an overwhelming feeling of doom. A 2003 study found that 95% of women who had heart attacks started feeling some of those symptoms a month or more before.

Be smart, be safe, and if you feel any of these symptoms then err on the side of caution and take action NOW. Remember the old saying: Better Safe Than Sorry.

Don't Spring Forward

Seasonal changes can kill you, literally. It seems researchers in Sweden have found that when we "spring forward" to daylight saving time in the spring there are 6% more heart attacks. On the other hand when we "fall back" as we'll do on Saturday night there will be 5% fewer heart attacks the following day.

The best guess on this phenomenon is that since we're chronically sleep deprived today, average sleep duration has fallen from 9.0 to 7.5 hours in the last century, the sudden change can be fatal to a few vulnerable folks. The simple solution? Don't make sudden changes to your daily schedule, gradually adjust your routine to maintain a safe amount of sleep.

Lost Opportunity to Save Lives

The sudden death of journalist Tim Russert was a shock to everyone. He had just passed a heart stress test two weeks prior to collapsing at work. His loss is shared by family, friends and his many media colleagues and my condolences go out to those who knew him.

In reporting on his death the news media has gone into great detail about how heart disease kills 300,000 Americans every year and is still our #1 cause of death. The news stories have gone into great detail on all of the surgical options, diagnostic tests, even prescription medications on this popular topic. In other words they've covered the story from every possible angle ... but one.

I've seen stories in almost every major media and not once has there been any mention of any complementary and alternative therapy for heart disease. I expected to see at least some mention of the Ornish Program which is the only medically-proven treatment to reverse heart disease. Or perhaps Jon Kabat-Zinn's Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School or some other proven CAM therapy. Instead all of the media chose to stick to their AMA-approved script. I'm sure all of the drug companies cheered all the reporting on their wonderful medications, they consider it free advertising.

This is just the latest example of how shallow journalism has become. It's sad and ironic that a journalist who always wanted to get behind the photo-op and underneath the press release became the latest example of the surface reporting that passes for journalism today in our country. Tim Russert, of all people, would've scolded his colleagues to do their job and get the WHOLE story, not just the sound bite.

The result of this media failure is another lost opportunity to help hundreds of thousands of people find better health with complementary and alternative medicine.

Better To Be Gambling

If you're having a heart attack is it better to be: A) in a hospital or B) in a casino or airport?

If you guessed A (as most of us would) then I have some bad news for you. It's actually safer to be in a casino or airport according to medical researchers. In nearly 1/3 of all heart attack situations in a hospital the staff takes too long to respond which increases the chances of brain damage and death.

The difference is defibrilators are widely available in most casinos and airports today while patients in a hospital room may not be noticed for the most important window of time for recovery. The odds are even lower in small hospitals with less than 250 beds and on nights and weekends.

Just one more case where the state of mainstream medicine may not be what you think.