Are Men more susceptible to heart diseases?

Ever wondered why men are more prone to cardiovascular disease than women? Well, the answer might have been found in the study conducted by University of Southern California’s Department of Gerontology. The study by the department focusing on the biological aging revealed tracks that men die more from cardiovascular disease than women, a study which also reveals gender gap in mortality rates. Cardiovascular diseases are the biggest threat to human life –both in men and women in the United States of America but the very question arises – Are Men more susceptible to Heart diseases than Women?

This fact cannot readily be cleared given the fact that the research and description considering the difference in ages when they get the heart disease is under-recognized and under-investigated. As per Dr. Nadita Scott, a cardiologist and co-director of the Corrigan Women’s Health Program at Harvard Affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital, ‘Most of what we know about diagnosis and treatment of heart disease comes from research done on middle-aged men, so we are extrapolating from that data.’ This clears the air that the data released is not conclusive enough.

Fact sheet of Heart Disease in Men

Men tend to suffer more heart-related disease in the United States than women and the following fact sheet remains the most important apologist for the same –

• For men, Heart disease remains the most leading cause of death with a reported casualties of 321,000 men in the year 2013 and which is 1 in every 4 deaths.
• For the racial and ethnic groups in the United States including African Americans, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Hispanics and Whites, Heart disease is the more common cause of death.
• About 8.5% of all white men, 7.9% of black men and 6.3% of Mexican American men have coronary heart disease symptoms and diagnosis.
• This fact is staggering to look at – about half of the men who die of Coronary Heart Disease have no previous symptoms as such.
• Between 70% to 89% of sudden cardiac events occur in Men.

The above fact checks clear the air suspecting heart disease to impact men more and it is true. If we go with the common knowledge circulating around the medical fraternity, women get prone to heart disease after an average age of 55 years while men can get heart disease at a much earlier age. Here are the reasons why?

What are the risk factors for men?

Here are some of the risk factors which men carry most than women and which brings them closer towards heart diseases –

Diabetes

As per the report released by The National Diabetes Statistics Report, the periodic publication of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of men suffering from diabetes is more than women. Diabetic patients have more chances to get heart disease than normal men, the reason being more synthesizing of blood sugar, lesser control on diet and stress susceptibility in comparison to women who handle stress better and which brings us to the second reason -

Physical Stress

This can be one possible reason for men carrying more heart diseases because of the physical stress they endure during the day. Though men have become more flexible over the decade, slaying it in homely and remote work cultures, men still have to undergo more physical stress because of heavy physical activities and actions than women. Emotional feelings and prone to adjustments are less of characterization for men and which directly impacts the health of the heart.

Obesity and Overweight

Fatty and junk foods have made Americans more obese and overweight in the recent decade than any part of the world and which has impacted their social health as well. Abdominal fats tend to impact the blood pressure and as we know, high blood pressure forces the heart to work harder, thereby creating more pressure on it and eventually weakening it. Women, on the other hand, have more insights as far as their outer looks are concerned and seek to not increase weight. Thus, they are less obese and less prone to heart disease.

Impact of Sex hormones

As per a study conducted in the year 2008 by Dr.Maciej Tomaszewski, New Blood Lecturer in Cardiovascular Medicine in the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Leicester, the reason for higher chances of heart disease in men as compared to women might be related to the specific effects of sex hormones.

Reference- Centre for Disease Control and Prevention

 

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