IntroductionBernardine Healy, in an editorial of 1991 on the NEJ The Yentl Syndrome, 1,2 showed how cardiovascular disease in women is understudied, under diagnosed and undertreated. The adverse ischemic heart disease is leading cause of death, less common in young women, where myocardial infarction (MI) mortality is two-fold higher in women younger than 50 years compared with age-matched men. The literature suggests that when women look like men, with male-pattern obstructive cardiovascular diseases (CHD), they are more likely to be diagnosed and treated like men. Two new analyses suggest that the Yentl syndrome is alive and well 10 years later. The first event in women takes about 10-20 years later than men. Women are more likely than men to have highrisk presentations and less likely to manifest central chest pain. 1,3 Pain in the upper back, arm, neck, and jaw, as well as unusual fatigue, dyspnea, indigestion, nausea/vomiting, palpitations, weakness, and a sense of dread, occur more frequently in women compared with men. The absence of chest pain or silent heart attack is more common in women than in men (35% vs 28%). So, women often turn later to the doctor and are treated less aggressively.1 Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death and hospitalization in worldwide. Recognition of important gender differences plays an important role in cardiovascular disease prevention. New sensitivity about gender differences, and particularly attention among women, will be necessary for more analytic view about cardiovascular disease in both sexes.
Possible causesThe Framingham study already described the risk factors for CHD in women; then the INTERHEART, conducted in 52 countries around the world, identified nine risk factors, measurable and modifiable. These factors measurable and modifiable are: i) smoking; ii) hypertension; iii) diabetes; iv) dyslipidemia; v) abdominal obesity (waist/hip ratio); vi) stress and psychosocial factors; vii) physical inactivity; viii) low intake of fruits and vegetables; ix) alcohol. More risk factors greatly multiply the probability of infarction. 4,5 These risk factors explain more than 90% of myocardial infarctions and in about 96% of CHD in women. For example, in women, it has been shown that family and marital stress increase the risk of Young FADOI and gender medicine: sex gender differences in cardiovascular disease
ABSTRACTWe have evaluated gender-related differences in cardiovascular disease. In particular, in coronary heart disease, atrial fibrillation, arterial hypertension, venous thromboembolism and diabetes mellitus. ©Copyright T. Ciarambino et al., 2018 Licensee PAGEPress, Italy Italian Journal of Medicine 2018 12:23-31 doi:10.4081/itjm.2018.864 Italian Journal of Medicine 2018; volume 12:23-31 N o n -c o m m e r c i a l u s e o n l y ischemic heart disease. In women there is another condition that simulates the coronary heart disease. This condition is the Takotsubo syndrome. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] Depression is one aspect of psycho...