Heart pain in women: a symptom that begins to
trouble most frequently after menopause, when due to the absence of
estrogen hormones, women lose their „natural” protection against
cardiovascular events. According to the studies made among patients with
heart attack, heart pain in women is not a hallmark symptom as it is in
men. This means that during a heart attack, heart pain in women is less
likely to occur and we must pay attention to other signs and symptoms
if we don’t want to miss a heart disorder. Although women lose their
protection against cardiovascular disease after menopause, estrogen
replacement must be indicated only in well selected cases, because this
treatment can determine breast or endometrial cancer, blood cloths and
stroke etc.
How can estrogen hormones prevent heart pain in women?
It is simple. Estrogen has an important role in lipid metabolism:
these hormones decrease the level of LDL-cholesterol and increase the
HDL cholesterol (also called „the healthy” cholesterol as it protects
against atherosclerosis). Estrogens tend to decrease serum cholesterol
concentrations and to increase serum triglyceride concentrations. The
overall effect of these changes, together with the effects on blood
vessels, is to protect against atherosclerosis and heart pain in women
before menopause. As atherosclerosis is the most important cause for
heart attacks and chronic heart ischemia (heart disease caused by
insufficient oxygenation of the heart tissues, which occurs when blood
vessels are blocked by atherosclerosis) it is clear now why estrogen is
so important and how can this hormone prevent
heart pain in women.
Heart pain in women, what does it mean?
Heart pain in women or chest pain are very often among old patients
and challenge the doctor to consider a lot of differential diagnosis,
although sometimes it is almost impossible to separate them. For
example, a pathology of the spine that presses nerve roots can determine
an intense pain, sometimes unbearable, radiating towards the abdomen or
chest and can easily mimic a heart pain. An esophagitis with burning
sensation in the chest, can be mistaken as a heart symptom, but it
responds well to the medication used in ulcer treatment and the duration
of symptoms is variable.
Heart pain in women
doest mean necessary that it is a heart attack, sometimes it is caused
by a heart muscle infection or disorder. Other causes for heart pain are
abnormal dilated blood vessels called aneurism or chest trauma. In some
patients, during heart attack, the pain is felt in the upper part of
the abdomen and it can be confused with a stomach or liver disease (like
ulcer, gastritis etc.).
How do we manage heart pain?
Heart pain it is always a very disturbing symptom, described by
patients as a sensation of pressure on the chest or constriction, but
sometimes, associated with palpitations (irregular heart beats),
shortness of breath, fatigue, sweating, agitation or even fainting. In
conclusion,
heart pain in women and men can be treated with beta-blockers (drugs that increase heart
tissues oxygenation, an example of such a drug is metoprolole), calcium
channels blockers (make heart blood vessels larger; e.g. amlodipine) or
the well known nitroglycerin.
