Having diabetes raises a woman's risk of having a heart attack to nearly 10 times

Having diabetes raises a woman's risk of having a heart attack to nearly 10 times that of other women, according to a study in the December issue of Diabetes Care. The study also describes why women with diabetes are at much higher risk than men with diabetes when it comes to having cardiac events.

Heart disease is the leading killer of people with diabetes, regardless of gender. But, the risks are disproportionately higher for women. Men who have diabetes are three times more likely to have a heart attack than those who don't, the study found. But women are 9.5 times more likely to have a heart attack if they have diabetes. Previous studies have reported a 2-4 times greater risk for cardiac events for all people with diabetes.

This is the first study to look specifically at factors that increase a woman's risk for developing heart disease as compared to a man's. The study, conducted by researchers in Finland, found the disproportionate risk to women could partially be explained by a series of cardiovascular risk factors that appear to be more prevalent in women with diabetes than in men with diabetes. The women in the study were more likely to have obesity, high blood pressure, low HDL cholesterol (or "good" cholesterol) and high levels of triglycerides. The greatest predictors for cardiac events in women were poor glycemic control, high blood pressure and low HDL combined with high triglycerides.

Poor control of blood sugar levels was also a predictor of cardiovascular disease in men. However, even after adjusting for conventional cardiovascular risk factors, a portion of the increased risk for heart attacks remained unexplained for both genders.

A separate study, conducted by researchers of the Translating Research into Action for Diabetes (TRIAD) Study, found that in 10 managed care health plans and 68 provider groups across the United States, women were less likely than men to receive aggressive treatment for cardiovascular risk factors.

Women with diabetes were less likely to have been advised to take aspirin to prevent cardiovascular events than men with diabetes and were also less likely to have been prescribed medications to lower cholesterol. Previous studies have shown women are likewise less likely than men to receive cholesterol screenings that would tell them if such medications were advisable.

Comments

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of News Medical.
Post a new comment
Post

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.

You might also like...
Medicaid patients less likely to receive prenatal heart defect diagnoses