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Dr Stéphane Manzo-Silberman (Interventional Cardiologist)
According to an American study, doctors do not have the same attitude to prevent cardiovascular disease in men and women. This difference in treatment leads to a real loss of opportunity for women. What about in France? Our experts answer us.
We tend to think that women are more spared from cardiovascular disease than men. And even though cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women, this belief persists among the general public… but also among health professionals according to a recent American study which studied the prescriptions given to patients with cardiovascular risk. raised.
Diet for women, statins for men
For the study, researchers assessed the health data of 8,500 men and women between the ages of 40 and 79. The participants had no history of heart disease however, nearly 3,000 had a higher risk of developing heart disease and were eligible for statins, according to a risk calculator. The researchers then calculated the likelihood of men and women being prescribed cholesterol-lowering treatment with statins and being advised on lifestyle and dietary measures: losing weight, eating healthier and exercising more.
Results: The team found that:
- Men were 20% more likely to be prescribed statins than women:
- Women were 27% more likely to be advised to lose weight, 38% more likely to be advised to exercise regularly and 11% more likely to reduce fat or calorie intake.
However, this “softer” way of approaching heart disease is proving problematic.
A difference in treatment that puts women at risk
Presented Friday, December 2 at the European Society of Cardiology in Asia, these results reflect a glaring gap in the management of cardiovascular disease between the two sexes. A difference in treatment that is not based on any medical justification. For Dr. Mary McGowan, chief medical officer of the Family Heart Foundation and author, this is complete nonsense. Men and women should be treated equally with regard to all risk reduction measures.
“Failing to aggressively treat women with lipid-lowering therapy results in increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality,” says Dr Mary McGowan.
Because they are wrongly perceived as being less at risk of cardiovascular events, women are treated less well, with real loss of opportunity.
“Our findings underscore the need for greater education among healthcare professionals to ensure women and men receive the most up-to-date information on how to maintain good cardiovascular health.” insists Dr. Prima Wulandari, co-author of the study.
In France, cardiovascular prevention in women is improving
And in France, is the observation the same? Contacted by Doctissimo, Dr. Stéphane Manzo-Silberman, cardiologist invested in cardiovascular prevention, particularly in women, answers us..
“We do not have comparable data in France with those of the United States” she answersbut cardiac prevention in women is a subject that is evolving as we integrate the cardiovascular risks specific to women, linked to the history of pregnancies, to more specific diseases, to associated treatments such as estrogen contraception – progestogen… This indeed requires the implementation of further studies to define the subject”.
But do women have the same heart risk as men?
“En absolute number, there are still today more heart attacks in men than in women. On the other hand, cardiovascular diseases have become the leading cause of death among women. And what is worrying is that this risk is constantly increasing in women, due in particular to smoking, which has a more deleterious effect in them than in men, the evolution of overweight, or parameters such as stress. chronic or precariousness which today affects women more than men” says our expert.
For Jean-François Renucci, vascular doctor and ambassador of Acting for Women’s Hearts, these are not the only reasons :
“Even today, heart health among women in France: it means fewer diagnoses, fewer investigations, fewer medications, because we are also less vigilant about the intensity of the signs to be aware of. In the end , women have more complications because the care was less intense and we were not aware of it”.
The two professionals agree on the fact that the situation is improving: knowledge of cardiovascular diseases in women and their prevention are increasingly at the heart of the news.
“Today, we must also change and develop the training of medical students, so that the symptoms of infarction in women are better known, and that they benefit from better prevention, better management load and better monitoring” concludes Doctor Renucci.