Study shows Heart Disease No 1 killer of women

The Star Newspaper - Malaysia
Monday December 11, 2006

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/12/11/nation/16284171&sec=nation

Study shows heart disease is No 1 killer of women

KUALA LUMPUR: A study by the Health Ministry from
1990 to 2005 has revealed a 135% increase in heart
disease among women, said Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

She said that last year, 22.5% of deaths among women
were due to cardiovascular heart disease.

“Heart disease is the number one killer of Malaysian
women, not breast cancer,” she said at the launch of
the website http://www.go-red.info/, which aims to create
more awareness about heart disease among women.

Rosmah, who is patron of the Go-Red Campaign,
pointed out that 46% of women around the age of 50
suffered from heart disease compared with 10% from
breast cancer.

Also 31% of women around that age had died of heart
disease while only 3% died from breast cancer.

“I hope the Health Ministry will lay out more aggressive
campaigns to create greater awareness on this issue,” she said.

National Heart Institute consultant cardiologist Datuk
Seri Dr Robaayah Zambahari, who is the Go-Red campaign
advisor, said the lack of awareness about heart disease
among women was not just among the general public but
also healthcare providers.

“As a result, women tend to receive less treatment than
men,” she said. Dr Robaayah said while men tended to
experience pains on the left side of the chest during a
heart attack, women mostly had difficulty
breathing and experienced pain on the upper
part of the abdomen, which is sometimes
mistaken for gastritis.

Among the women, who have a higher risk of getting
heart disease were those who had reached menopause,
led a sedentary lifestyle, were obese, diabetics and smokers.