More younger women are projected to develop heart disease by 2050 due to delayed care and risk factors that affect them greater than men, The New York Times reported Aug. 6.
Nearly one-third of all women ages 20 to 44 will have heart disease in 2050, and women under 55 are more likely to die from heart attacks compared to men under 55.
“Heart disease is, in fact, a woman’s disease,” Emily Lau, MD, co-director of the Mass General Brigham Women’s Heart Health program, told the Times.
Here is why:
1. One driver is increasingly common obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes among younger women. These risk factors also have a greater effect on women than men.
2. Young women with high blood pressure are often underdiagnosed and undertreated, and heart disease risk may actually start rising at lower blood pressure levels in women than in men.
3. Sex-specific factors such as premature menopause, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, inflammatory autoimmune diseases and pregnancy complications, including gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia are also associated with increased heart disease risk, but may not be necessarily causal.
4. Younger women are also less likely to have a routine healthcare provider, skip or delay care due to costs, while some rely on OB-GYNs for primary care.
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