Study Reveals: Lifestyle Choices Significantly Impact Women’s Heart Health

Washington: Recent research presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session reveals that lifestyle choices and health factors linked to heart disease impact women more significantly than men. This is the first study of its kind to show that diet, exercise, smoking, and blood pressure have a stronger correlation with cardiovascular risk in women.

Lead author Dr. Maneesh Sud, an interventional cardiologist and assistant professor at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, emphasizes the need for a more personalized approach to heart health. “Our findings suggest that risk assessments should consider gender differences. It’s not a one-size-fits-all situation,” he explained.

The study examined eight heart disease risk factors: diet, sleep, physical activity, smoking, body mass index, blood glucose, lipids, and blood pressure. Surprisingly, the results revealed that while women generally had fewer negative health factors, they experienced a sharper increase in risk when those factors were present. In other words, women with unhealthy habits faced a higher likelihood of serious cardiovascular issues compared to their male counterparts.

Researchers analyzed data from over 175,000 Canadians who enrolled in the Ontario Health Study from 2009 to 2017. All participants were heart disease-free at the start. During a follow-up period of more than 11 years, the study tracked various heart-related events like heart attacks and strokes.

Interestingly, a greater percentage of women (9.1%) achieved perfect health scores compared to men (4.8%). Furthermore, women were less likely to fall into the “poor health” category (21.9% of women versus 30.5% of men). Women tended to excel in areas such as diet and blood pressure but lagged slightly in physical activity levels.

After adjusting for age, the risks became clearer. Women with poor health faced nearly five times the risk of heart disease compared to those with ideal health. In contrast, men with poor health had 2.5 times the risk. Women classified with intermediate health saw a 2.3 times higher risk, while men experienced a 1.6 times higher risk when compared to those in ideal health.

The researchers call for further studies to explore how various factors impact heart health in both genders, especially considering biological and social influences. They also aim to look into differences among various racial and ethnic groups, as well as how age, particularly menopause, may play a role in these disparities.

This study sheds light on the critical need to address heart health differently for men and women, encouraging both individuals and healthcare providers to consider tailored approaches for promoting heart-healthy behaviors.

For more in-depth information on heart disease and gender differences, check out the American Heart Association’s latest studies and guidelines.

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