The incidence of heart attack is higher, especially in smokers and older people. Heart and circulatory system diseases are among the top causes of death in the world and in our country. According to the data released, people who die from heart attacks are mostly women. According to official statistics; 43.9 percent of women and 36.4 percent of men die because of this. The Turkish Society of Cardiology (TKD), which warns against risk factors such as obesity and smoking, pointed out that cardiovascular diseases cause the death of approximately 17 million people in the world every year, in other words, one third of all deaths are due to complications of hypertension.
HYPERTENSION IS LESS FREQUENCY IN WOMEN UNDER 45 AGES THAN MEN
Again, according to the data shared by the Turkish Society of Cardiology, the prevalence of hypertension in women under the age of 45 is less than in men; Over the age of 55, the protective effect of sex hormones disappears and the incidence of hypertension increases in women, depending on age.
THE NUMBERS SHOW THE SERIOUS SITUATION
Underlining that cardiovascular diseases are one of the most common causes of death all over the world, Internal Medicine and Cardiology Specialist Prof. Dr. Saide Aytekin gave the following information: “The first cause of death in our country is diseases of the heart and circulatory system, and according to official statistics, 43.9 percent of women and 36.4 percent of men die because of this. When we look at the number of deaths from cardiovascular disease in women in 2019, A striking figure is 79,788. However, only 4,207 women died from breast cancer, these numbers give information about the seriousness of the situation.
TURKEY IS ONE OF THE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES WHERE CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES ARE MOST COMMON
Turkey is one of the European countries where cardiovascular diseases are most common in women. While breast cancer is the most feared disease in women, one out of every three women dies from cardiovascular disease, while only one in 30 women dies from breast cancer. Women are twice as likely to die from a heart attack as men, even at a young age. The difference between men and women disappears over the age of 60, and the risk of cardiovascular diseases begins to be seen at the same rates. The importance of risk factors is enormous. Therefore, it is necessary to increase awareness of heart diseases in women.
HEART ATTACK IS 6 TIMES HIGHER IN SMOKING WOMEN
Turkish Society of Cardiology Women and Heart Health Sub-Committee Chairman and Cardiology Specialist Assoc. Dr. A. Ayça Boyacı pointed out the important risk factors such as cigarette and tobacco in heart diseases and said, “Smoking is less in women than in men, but it is increasing gradually. The rate of heart attack in smokers is 6 times higher than in non-smokers. This difference is observed in men as 3 times. Smoking Sudden cardiac death in smokers is also 9 percent higher than in non-smokers and 75 percent is due to acute thrombosis. Passive smoking in women also increases the risk of coronary heart disease 1.2-1.3 times. Apart from smoking, hypertension is also an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases in women The burden of hypertension is higher especially in older women than in men, and therefore cardiovascular diseases and stroke are more common in women.
OBESITY IN WOMEN IS 2 TIMES MORE THAN MEN
In addition, the prevalence of obesity is about twice that of men. The incidence of high cholesterol and diabetes is higher than that of men. Although death from hypertension-related cardiovascular diseases is more common in women than in men, risk assessment is done less frequently than in men. Appropriate lifestyle changes for the control and effective treatment of hypertension in women, especially weight loss and reduction of salt in the diet, adequate potassium intake, appropriate and adequate drug therapy will reduce the frequency of complications such as coronary heart disease, stroke and heart failure that may develop in the long term.
SECOND LIFE CAUSES HEART DISEASES
Stating that obesity is an important factor in the increase of heart diseases, Cardiology Specialist Prof. Dr. İrem Dinçer spoke at the meeting as follows: “The most common cause of death all over the world is diseases such as heart attack or stroke due to vascular disease. Today, the aging of the society and the sedentary lifestyle lead to an increase in unhealthy diet and heart diseases. This change in lifestyle brings with it the problem of obesity. While obesity causes lubrication in the blood, high blood pressure, increased blood sugar, and vascular disease occur together with it. The metabolic changes experienced with the increase in waist circumference are called metabolic syndrome and it is a very common health problem.
YOU CAN PROTECT HEART HEALTH WITH REGULAR NUTRITION
Epidemiological studies show that the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in adults in Turkey is very high and tends to increase gradually. Abdominal obesity is observed in 48 percent of women over the age of 20 and in 17 percent of men in Turkey. Although metabolic disorders caused by obesity increase the risk of cardiovascular disease; it also causes breathing difficulties, problems in the legs and hip joints. For this reason, we should accept that obesity is a disease on its own and that it affects all our organs, and we should change our lifestyle accordingly. We must protect our heart health by making permanent changes in our regular exercise and eating habits.”
SOCIETY NEEDS AWARENESS
Turkish Society of Cardiology Digital Health Project Group President and Cardiology Specialist Prof. Dr. Nurgül Keser stated the importance of health literacy and said, “The number one cause of death in women in our country, as in the world, is cardiovascular diseases. Heart diseases come first with a rate of 40 percent in all deaths. In our society, heart diseases are still considered a male-specific disease. In this regard, The society and especially our women need to be more conscious. The first step of raising awareness is to increase health literacy. Developing health literacy is of great importance for a healthy society and a sustainable health system. The increase in chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases has led to a mandatory transformation in the health sector all over the world The concept of personalized health, which emerged as a result of the developments in technology, has led individuals to take responsibility and manage their own health.The use of information and communication technologies to improve health services is digital right introduced the concept of With the merger of the concepts of health literacy and digital health, digital health literacy entered our lives. Various e-health services such as e-pulse, MHRS, services provided on the web pages of health institutions, e-prescription, tele-medicine are increasingly used in our country. I hope that all these developments will lead to an increase in the awareness of the cardiovascular diseases that threaten them in the society and especially in our women, ease in the fight against risk factors that cause heart diseases, and ultimately a decrease in deaths from cardiovascular diseases. However, the first step to be taken for this is to be aware of the danger.” said