Since symptoms are different for women than men, women need to learn to recognize female-specific symptoms of heart disease.
While heart disease is the number-one killer of women in the U.S., almost two-thirds of women who die of heart disease have no previous symptoms. Women experience more varied and less obvious symptoms of coronary artery disease (CAD). Many of the tests do not consider the cardiovascular differences between women and men, and these tests often yield higher rates of inaccuracies or false positives.
There is a three-pronged approach to women's heart health:
- Get educated about heart disease. Learn the signs and symptoms.
- Get heart healthy. Exercise, follow a healthy diet, and know your genetic risk factors.
- Get tested. Technology can help identify and rule out CAD.
belle S. Volgman, M.D., FACC, FAHA, is Professor of Medicine and Senior Attending Physician at Rush Medical College and Rush University Medical Center. She is the Medical Director of the Rush Heart Center for Women. She is the recipient of the Madeleine and James McMullan-Carl E. Eybel, MD Chair of Excellence in Clinical Cardiology. Dr. Volgman received her undergraduate degree with honors from Barnard College, Columbia University, and her medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. She is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Chicago Hospitals and Clinics and her Cardiology and Clinical Electrophysiology fellowship at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. She has been Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease and Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology.