Studies show that heart disease is the main cause of death in America and each year, it kills more people than all the different types of cancer combined. According to the data availed by the American Heart Association, a US woman dies every minute due to cardiovascular disease with a total of 398 035 deaths in a year. Coronary artery disease or atherosclerosis which is characterized by hardening of heart arteries is the main villain among the various heart conditions.

Unfortunately, many women together with their doctors are not able to identify the signs of heart disease. In all respect, it is important that the same thing that has been done with breast cancer is also done with heart health as well. Spread the Word is a new website for patient education and advocacy whereby Battaglino and HealthyWomen works in Women’s Health with Nurse Practitioners in getting more women aware about the heart disease.

Risk for coronary artery disease

For a woman having coronary artery disease, chances are that they don’t realize that plaque buildup can block the arteries that lead to your heart partially. This usually includes the calcium, fat and cells which stick to the walls of blood vessels. This tends to lead to a heart attack as a result of the death of the heart tissue that has been starved of blood supply that is rich in nutrients. Battablino notes that women never understand that it is the leading killer. Battaglino now has great hopes that there will be more women joining the online conversation about CAD and will essentially become their own advocates thereof at the doctor’s office. You simply share what you know with your family and friend by going on the social media and writing a blog post.

Women Vs. men- heart symptoms

It is highly likely for women to fail not to notice or overlook the subtle symptoms associated with a heart condition such as atherosclerosis, which include back or arm pain. In most cases, this remains undiagnosed until when heart failure or a heart attack strikes. Women tend to have very different symptoms unlike men and for women; the condition can mimic other ailments that are less deadly. While men start feeling a sharp chest pain, women should focus more on identifying other symptoms, which include:

  • Upper back pain
  • Jaw tightness
  • Upper arm pain
  • Throat pain
  • Upper abdominal pain
  • Fatigue or weakness which comes suddenly
  • Stomach pain

A woman can actually mistake the pain that comes with the coronary artery disease with a pulled muscle. The gut pains could be confused with simple indigestion. Most women tend to be tired and are highly likely to dismiss it without knowing that it could be coronary artery disease and they thus need to be very careful watchful.