Millions of women could live with a silent health status that runs the risk of strokes and heart attacks, doctors warn.
Officially, at least 10 million Americans have peripheral vascular disease (PVD), which causes a narrowing of the arteries, making it more difficult for blood to flow through the body.
But researchers from the American Heart Association warn PVD is 'under recognized and investigated' – they fear that it is much more common than the figures suggest, especially in women.
This means that women go longer without a diagnosis and have a more chance of suffering more serious forms of the disease, causing the risk that the blood supply is cut off the brain, causes a stroke or getting through the heart, causing a heart attack.
In a new study, researchers found that women have more often rejected their symptoms, causing doctors to miss the condition.
Women had more than twice as much chance of serious complications, and they were also less aware of the subtle signs, such as pain while walking.
A new report from the American Heart Association showed that women run an increased risk of various forms of the deadly heart disease peripheral vascular disease (Stock image)
Dr. Esther Sh Kim, explanation author and director of the Center for Women's Cardiovascular Health at Atrium Health in North Carolina, said: “Peripheral vascular diseases are often subject to and investigated in women.
“Although differences in heart disease between men and women are increasingly recognized, equivalent focus on vascular diseases that influence blood vessels outside the heart is still missing.”
The American Heart Association team wrote this week in the magazine circulation, for the first time looked at peripheral artery disease (PAD), the most common form of PVD.
With around 10 million Americans, path occurs in small blood vessels in areas other than the brain and the heart, such as the legs.
Patients can initially feel changes in their legs, such as pain while walking. Muscle weakness, hair loss, shiny skin, skin that feels cool, and cold or numb toes are also common.
People who smoke, have high blood pressure, have diabetes or are obese, all run a higher risk of developing paths, because these factors are sparking blood vessels.
Within five years of a mushroom, one in three patients will die and one in five will undergo a heart attack or stroke, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Although the path has an almost equal influence on men and women, the researchers have discovered that women have not experienced any symptoms or have easily rejected symptoms, such as walking with slower speeds.
This can lead to the disease progressing further, which increases the risk of fatal complications such as a stroke.
The above image from the American Heart Association report shows that the types of PVD women are running an increased risk compared to men
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In addition, women with aortopathy – disorders that influence the most important muscle of the heart, the aorta – are usually diagnosed in old age and with more serious forms of the disease than men.
This is despite the fact that a lower risk of aorta disorders such as aneurysms, because estrogen can protect against them by reducing the amount of enzymes that the blood vessel walls would weaken.
The team analyzed a study from the UK and discovered that women were three times more likely than men to have an aneur symmebrate. In addition, 30 percent of the fractures in women with small aneurysms took place compared to eight percent in men.
When an aneurysm – a bulging wall in a blood vessel – bursts, this leads to potentially deadly internal bleeding.
Women who undergo surgery to repair their aorta were also more likely than men to suffer like a stroke or die.
Moreover, women have a maximum of nine times more likely than men to suffer fibromuscular dysplasia, which causes thickening and narrowing of the arteries without plaque structure, reducing blood flow.
The condition affects around 12 in 100,000 Americans and can lead to stroke and high blood pressure.
The American Heart Association researchers called for more research into PVD in women, such as by including more women in clinical tasting, analyzing sex differences in studies and looking at treatment strategies specifically aimed at women.
Dr. Kim said: 'PVD leads to significant diseases and health complications. However, the differences between women and men hinder fair results.
“Identified differences in effective prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care underline the importance of tailor-made prevention and treatment strategies.”
