Dental Tribune Middle East & Africa Edition

Two out of five women have heart attacks without experi- encing chest pain, according to a study of more than one mil- lion people. The study findings may partly explain why middle-aged women are more likely to die fromaheartattackthanmen,de- spite more heart attacks occur- ring in men of the same age. Researchers from the Watson Clinic and Lakeland Regional Medical Centre, Florida, analysed data on more than one million heart attack patients seen at US hospitals between 1994 and 2006. Around 42 per cent of the patients were women. Women were, on average, older than men when they had a heart attack (age 74 vs. 67 respec- tively). Overall, around 35 per cent of heart attack patients said they didn't have chest pain or discom- fort, probably the best known heart attack symptom. But when researchers looked at symptoms in both sexes, they found that 42 per cent of women didn'thavechestpain,compared with 31 per cent of men. Middle-aged women were also more likely to die as a result ofaheartattackinhospital.Some 14 per cent of women under the age of 55 died compared with 10 per cent of men in the same age group. The gap between male andfemaledeathratesnarrowed in patients older than this. Heart attack patients without chest pain may receive less ag- gressive treatment in hospital, particularly if they are younger, and may also take longer to go to a hospital with their symptoms. This could explain the difference in mortality rates between the sexes, the researchers said. The authors wrote: "Optimal recognition and timely manage- ment of myocardial infarction (MI; heart attack), especially for reducingpatientdelayinseeking acute medical care, is critical. "The presence of chest pain/discomfort is the hallmark symptom of MI. "Furthermore, patients with- outchestpain/discomforttendto present later, are treated less ag- gressively,andhavealmosttwice the short-term mortality com- pared with those presenting with more typical symptoms of MI." Cathy Ross, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foun- dation,said:"Contrarytopopular belief, a heart attack doesn’t nec- essarily mean dramatic and ex- cruciating chest pains. "Symptomsvary;forsomethe pain is severe and yet others may feel nothing more than a mild discomfort or heaviness "Youngerwomenmayneedto heed that advice more than most because they appear to be less likely to have chest pains. "Their symptoms can be overlooked by inexperienced medical staff because heart at- tacks in young women are rare. More research will hopefully identify why there are such vari- ationsinthewayheartdiseaseaf- fects men and women. "Interestingly, smoking was found to be the main cause of heart attacks among younger women, compared to high cho- lesterol and narrowing of the heart’s arteries in older women. It’s a reminder that we should all try to eat a balanced diet, get ac- tive and stop smoking." The study is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. DT Brilliant light, the new A-dec LED light combines For information on what to look for in quality dental lighting, visit a-dec.com/LED to learn more. Chairs Lights Cabinets Maintenance AD DENTALTRIBUNE Middle East & Africa Edition International News 5 Women more likely to have heart attacks without chest pain