If you are a fan of the soap opera Pantanal – or you don’t watch it, but you’ve already read or heard something about it – you must be aware that the protagonist, José Leôncio, played by Marcus Palmeira, shows an insistent tiredness that, apparently (and TV news sites tell you), are signs of a heart problem.
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And because fiction imitates life, signs of heart disease are not always noticed or even ignored. The most classic ones – such as excessive tiredness and shortness of breath – are even known and publicized. But measuring symptoms of heart disease can be difficult due to its subjectivity, as they may often not be recognized by patients or not even reported to health professionals.
What perhaps few people know is that there are those signs that are not the same for men and women. A new scientific statement published by American Heart Association (AHA) highlights that the symptoms of the six main cardiovascular diseases can be different for both sexes.
See the list of the 6 most common cardiovascular diseases and the different symptoms for men and women:
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- Heart attack: According to the document, the most frequent symptom reported when a person is having a heart attack is pain in the chest (like pressure), which radiates to the back, shoulders, arm and jaw. The least frequent signs and most reported by women are shortness of breath, sweating or cold sweat, unusual fatigue, nausea and dizziness.
- Cardiac insufficiency: shortness of breath is the most classic symptom and what makes people seek a doctor. However, other earlier symptoms must be considered, such as gastrointestinal problems, stomach pain, nausea, loss of appetite, insomnia, mood disorders and cognitive dysfunction. According to the document, women with heart failure have more problems with depression and anxiety and report a lower quality of life. They also report palpitations, increased levels of pain and digestive changes.
- Valve disease: Heart valve disease is a common cause of heart failure and has the same main symptom, which is shortness of breath. A person with valve disease can go years without symptoms and develop them progressively. Among the atypical signs are hypertension of the lungs. Women report more shortness of breath, exercise intolerance and physical frailty than men (they often report chest pain).
- Stroke: happens when blood flow to the brain is interrupted. The main signs are easily recognizable as it is a medical emergency (face tilted to the side, difficulty speaking/distorted speech and weakness in the arms). But there are other symptoms that can help identify: mental confusion, dizziness, loss of coordination and balance and visual changes. According to the document, women are more likely to have less familiar symptoms, such as headache and motor and sensory changes.
- Cardiac arrhythmia: Heart arrhythmias are often described as fast, irregular, and choppy beats. Other symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath and dizziness – all shared with other cardiovascular diseases. Less common ones include chest pain, fainting and anxiety. Women and younger adults report feeling more palpitations.
- Peripheral arterial disease: It is characterized by blockage of the arteries of the lower limbs. People may have no symptoms or have the classic sign of pain in one or both calf muscles (which occurs during walking and disappears with rest). However, cramps, fatigue, pain in the toes or other parts of the foot can also be important signs, as the condition increases the risk of heart attack or stroke. Depression is a very common problem in women with peripheral arterial disease.
The document reviewed a series of studies, but warns that symptoms overlap and are experienced in different ways over a certain period, in addition to, of course, varying according to gender and severity. Therefore, it is important to recognize typical and atypical signs to prevent cardiovascular diseases.
"This is a document to alert not only the lay population, but also the medical community. It starts from the premise that most symptoms are subjective. So, the doctor needs to know how to identify what the patient is bringing informationSays Humberto Graner, cardiologist and coordinator of Emergency Care at Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein in Goiânia.
