Women face different challenges when it comes to heart health, given that they navigate a much more complex hormonal environment than men.

Although the heart is universal, there are important differences between men and women. Experts explain that women’s hearts vary in size and structure compared to men.

“Women generally have smaller hearts and blood vessels than men,” says Renita Goswami, a Dubai-based internist. The size difference is not as trivial as it may seem. It involves hidden dangers. “There is research showing that women are more likely to develop heart disease in the small arteries of the heart,” she says.

This poses a dangerous risk because diagnosis is much more difficult. The smaller the passage, the more difficult it is to diagnose a blockage, leading to missed diagnosis and delayed treatment. This means women are at higher risk. Risks that often go unnoticed.

Apart from the structure itself, women experience a wide range of hormonal fluctuations throughout their lives.

During menstruation, estrogen decreases and stress hormones increase. This can cause your heart to beat faster and put extra strain on your heart. Depression can make this stress even worse, explains Harjit Bahia, a Dubai-based health expert, fitness trainer, nutritionist, and owner of health clinic Longevity.

According to Bahia and Goswami, there are many variables for women, including medical conditions that can develop during pregnancy and affect heart health during pregnancy and beyond. This can include common conditions such as gestational diabetes and high blood pressure.

A lot of it has to do with estrogen, which protects a woman’s cardiovascular system. Bahia explains that this decreases with age. This hormone plays an important role in maintaining heart health in women because it helps keep tissues throughout the body supple and supple. Helps increase blood flow and control blood pressure. Before menopause, estrogen increases her HDL (good) cholesterol and decreases her LDL (bad) cholesterol.

But after age 36, Bahia says, levels begin to decline. When estrogen levels drop, blood vessel walls become stiffer and more prone to inflammation. This promotes plaque buildup and increases the risk of blockages that can cause a heart attack. Large studies such as the US-based Study of Women’s Health Across America (SWAN) show that significant changes occur in cardiovascular health during the menopausal transition. As HDL decreases and LDL increases, blood lipids, or fats, also increase. A protein called fibrinogen, which has been linked to heart disease and stroke, is also present in the plasma and increases, the study said.

During menstruation, estrogen decreases and stress hormones increase. This can cause your heart to beat faster and put extra strain on your heart. Depression can make this stress even worse…

– Harjit Bahia, Fitness Trainer and Nutritionist

Additionally, women who gain weight during their reproductive years tend to accumulate fat around their hips and thighs. At this time, this does not pose a risk to your heart health. However, after menopause, more fat is distributed around the abdomen and heart, and this visceral fat is associated with cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular disease, Goswami explains.

When women suffer from depression, it puts additional stress on the heart, leading to more variable hormonal fluctuations, Bahia says. When a person is under chronic stress, widespread inflammation can occur in the body. This damages blood vessels and promotes plaque buildup within the arteries, increasing the risk of blockages and heart attacks.

The classic symptom that everyone is familiar with is severe pain up and down the left arm. But in women, Goswami says, diagnosis is much more difficult.

In women, the symptoms are quite “atypical”, such as fatigue, nausea, and abdominal discomfort. “They’re having pain not only in their jaw, but also in their backs. These are all associated with cardiovascular disease in women. It’s a warning sign for a heart attack,” she says. In fact, in some cases women report feeling tired and disrupted sleep patterns a month or so before a heart attack.

There are many subtle symptoms, warns Goswami. Pay close attention to your body, she says, and don’t wait to ask for help.

As Goswami explains, heart disease is an umbrella term that includes many cardiovascular diseases. A common cause is coronary heart disease (CAD), in which the heart’s arteries become blocked or narrowed by plaque formed by cholesterol deposits. This can cause heart attacks and strokes. She says the main causes of CAD are due to unhealthy lifestyle habits such as unrelieved stress levels, inadequate weight maintenance, and high cholesterol.

CAD is harmful enough, but there are other types of heart disease, such as abnormal heart rhythms. In the case of atrial fibrillation, the heart beats irregularly, resulting in complications such as blood clots, stroke and heart failure. Heart failure is considered a completely different type of disease. Goswami says it is the result of a damaged and weakened heart. There can be various reasons behind heart failure, such as high blood pressure, viral or bacterial infections.

First of all, be careful, explains Goswami. You must be able to manage any pre-existing medical conditions that increase your risk of heart disease, such as your blood pressure. In addition to high cholesterol, you should also keep track of your diabetes. Another risk factor is diabetes, she says. Diabetes increases the risk of heart disease in women than in men. This is likely because women with diabetes often have additional risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

Be more active: Try to do moderate exercise such as walking for at least 30 minutes. Make small changes to your life, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

eat a balanced diet: Make sure your diet includes whole grains, a variety of fruits and vegetables, nuts, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, fatty fish (such as wild-caught salmon), and avoid trans fats. Please limit your intake.

Reduce stress and treat depression: Find out how to manage your stress levels. Find ways to relax and make sure you get enough sleep.