Women’s hearts need special treatment

Abstract

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the Western world. Some studies show that the observed decline in cardiovascular mortality is not as pronounced among women as among men. There is a growing awareness that most earlier studies both on primary and secondary risk factors, diagnosis, prognosis, and rehabilitation have focused mainly on men. Thus, there is a need to develop knowledge about women with CHD and to address gender issues in treatment and rehabilitation strategies. Negative affect and emotions increase risk and may interfere with effective cardiac rehabilitation. Therefore, methods for coping with emotional stress need to be included in treatment regimens after a coronary event. The feasibility of a stress management program for women with CHD was assessed in a pilot study. The program consisted of twenty 2-hr group sessions during 1 year, with 5 to 9 participants per group. The pilot study showed that this treatment program had a low dropout rate and resulted in improvement in quality of life and reduction in stress and symptoms. Further work to optimize psychosocial interventions for women with CHD is needed.

Shared biomarkers between female diastolic heart failure and pre‐eclampsia: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…In recent decades has become clear how men and women differ in many manifestations of CVD including clinical picture, age of onset and diagnostic possibilities 1, 3, 5. Because this is a relatively recent insight, we currently lack female‐only data in for example cardiovascular risk management.…”

“…The diagnosis of CVD is often delayed in women due to differences in clinical presentation and underlying pathophysiology compared to the male standard 1, 2, 3, 4. From post‐menopausal age on, more women than men suffer from CVD 4, 5.…”

A Ten Year Overview of Surgical and Interventional Arrhythmology in Russia. Service Peculiar Features in the Far East

“…У лиц с низким социально-экономическим статусом, более старшего возраста и женщины должны применяться инди-видульно разработанные программы с учетом их специфи-ческих потребностей в информации и эмоциональной под-держки [202,206] .…”

Stress Reduction Prolongs Life in Women With Coronary Disease

“…17,18 The intervention methodology followed basic principles of cognitive behavioral intervention programs: communication of cardiovascular health knowledge, methods for self monitoring, recognizing cognitive distortions, cognitive restructuring, skills training, and role playing. 11,19 The intervention was provided in 20 sessions, each 2 to 2.5 hours long. Groups consisting of 4 to 8 female patients met weekly for 10 weeks and thereafter monthly.…”

“…Because of the needs expressed by female coronary patients, we used a psychosocial intervention program based on cognitive behavior therapy principles, 11 in which we emphasized methods for reducing stress and coping with stress whether the stress originates from marriage or work. We used group meetings as the main therapeutic modality and ran same-sex groups with women only.…”