Unhealthy Lifestyle Has a Greater Impact on Women’s Heart Health

Research shows women face higher heart disease risks due to poor lifestyle choices(hh.health)

An unhealthy lifestyle affects women’s cardiovascular risk more than men’s, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s annual scientific session. Researchers analyzed data from over 175,000 Canadian adults between 2009 and 2017. At the start of the study, none of the participants had heart disease, and nearly 60 percent were women. Each participant was classified as having ideal or poor health based on eight risk factors, and these scores were used to determine an overall risk profile categorized as poor, intermediate, or ideal.

Dr. Manish Sood, an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, stated that the study found that for the same level of health, the increase in risk was higher in women than in men. The research focused specifically on eight heart disease-related factors, including diet, sleep, physical activity, smoking, body mass index, blood sugar, lipids, and blood pressure. It was observed that women had a higher likelihood of risk than men, even with lower exposure to negative conditions.

Researchers plan to conduct additional analysis to determine whether there are differences in risk factor effects among various racial and ethnic groups or between premenopausal and postmenopausal women.