As of: March 11, 2024, 2:25 p.m
By: Laura Knops
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There are also differences between men and women when it comes to heart health.
What influence female hormones have.
Men and women suffer from the same diseases that manifest themselves through the same symptoms?
This is not the case with many cardiovascular diseases.
The physiological differences between men and women have long been neglected in medicine.
It is already known that there are gender-specific differences.
The result is misdiagnosis - in the long term this can be life-threatening, for example in the event of a heart attack.
Gender differences in cardiovascular diseases
The female and male hearts are different.
More and more doctors are taking this into account in their treatment.
© Science Photo Library/Imago
The differences between the male and female bodies begin with the small but very important control elements, the hormones.
Three groups particularly influence the female organism: sex hormones, thyroid hormones and stress hormones.
They control various metabolic processes and act as drivers and triggers for a variety of bodily functions.
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The difference between the male and female bodies can be seen most clearly in the female hormone estrogen.
“In women, estrogen is the main hormone, so they particularly benefit from its proven protective effect on the blood vessels and are protected from cardiovascular and vascular diseases for a long time.
In men, the proportion is naturally only small,” explains gender doctor Prof. Burkhard Sievers from the
German Heart Foundation
.
This protective mechanism disappears with menopause and menopause because the female body produces less estrogen.
At the same time, the number of cardiovascular and vascular diseases among women increases enormously during this time, as the
Techniker Krankenkasse (TK)
informs.
However, impending illnesses can be prevented with the right precautions.
The risk of cardiovascular disease increases during pregnancy
During pregnancy, the body goes through a multitude of changes.
These can have long-term effects on heart health in women.
According to Sievers, one of the greatest risks is so-called gestational hypertension, which is a blood pressure disorder.
Some women also suffer from diabetes, also known as gestational diabetes.
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If one or even both diseases occur during pregnancy, women have a seven to eight times increased risk of suffering from the symptoms later on compared to healthy pregnant women.
This is the case even if blood sugar and blood pressure levels initially return to normal after pregnancy.
What makes it even more difficult is that the pre-diabetes cannot be diagnosed using a conventional fasting blood sugar value, but can only be detected using glucose tolerance tests.
It is therefore all the more important that countermeasures are taken in a timely manner for affected women if blood pressure and blood sugar rise again.
Strokes, heart attacks and other vascular complications can be prevented in this way.
Compensating for lost heart protection: Prevention is particularly important
According to the German Heart Foundation,
early preventive examinations should
be carried out between the ages of 40 and 45.
The prerequisites for some heart diseases are created at a young age and develop gradually.
With the help of heart and vascular check-ups, these can be identified and treated accordingly.
Of course, there are also factors that every woman can influence and that contribute to long-term heart health.
These include:
regular endurance sports
a healthy and balanced diet
Avoid alcohol and cigarettes
According to Ärzteblatt
, a healthy lifestyle can
significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
In addition, preventive examinations should become routine, according to the
TK experts
.
If hormone levels drop during menopause, it is unfortunately not enough to replace the hormones with tablets or patches.
Although these can alleviate the typical menopausal symptoms, they do not provide any protection for the cardiovascular system and blood vessels.
This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication. It in no way replaces a visit to the doctor. Our editorial team is not allowed to answer individual questions about medical conditions.