Aspirin for women

[hue]

Aspirin impacts womens' health. A baby aspirin a day significanly reduces chances of stroke. But check with your doc first.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/ASPIRIN__WOMEN?SITE=NCMOR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Mar 7, 12:40 PM EST

Study: Aspirin Prevents Strokes in Women

By MARILYNN MARCHIONE
AP Medical Writer

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Middle-age women can cut their risk of strokes but not heart attacks by regularly taking low doses of aspirin, and the pills help prevent both problems in women 65 and older, a major study found.

The results are opposite what is known about aspirin in men, where its benefit for stroke is limited and its ability to prevent heart problems is legendary. Since women proportionately suffer more strokes and men more heart attacks, this is generally good news, specialists said.

Researchers also found that taking vitamin E did no good for women of any age, confirming a study last fall that concluded supplements of this nutrient could even be harmful.

The new information comes from the Women's Health Study, the first rigorous, scientific test of whether long-term use of aspirin or vitamin E made a difference in cardiovascular risk in females. Previous research has been almost exclusively in males.

more...

[DeepModem Mom]

1. Thanks for posting! I'm glad to see more women's health studies...

being done, as men's studies apparently often result in quite different results from those involving women, and are of little benefit to women.

[hue]

2. Thought a thread about women

would change the headliner landscape a little.
I'm a nurse and am grateful when good research is done on women!

[ChickMagic]

3. A number of years ago

I was running a Medline search for a doctor I worked with. He wanted me to research all the studies that had been done on women and heart disease. I found 4 - all 4 papers were stating that there hadn't been any research done on women and heart disease.

Thankfully, that's changing now that more women are in medicine.

[hue]

4. Yes the history of medical research on women is pathetic! nt

[ChickMagic]

5. It turns out

that women don't even have the same symptoms of heart attack that men have. Women either didn't go to the ER or once they were there, they didn't investigate for heart attack. One think I've learned is that if you have any inkling that you may be having a heart attack, go into the ER and clearly state that you are having a heart attack. Then they have to investigate it.

[hue]

6. That's a great strategy!

I work in a coronary ICU so I'm well familiar with the atypical symptoms of women!
These days it is well known among MDs that women do not present with a heart attack in the same manner that men do.

Heart attacks are the #1 killer of women!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

7. As a public service for us middle-aged women types,

what are the symptoms of heart attack for women?

[ChickMagic]

9. My understanding is

that women don't often get the radiating pain down the left arm. They have trouble breathing and get nauseous. I'm sure hue can add to that.

on edit:
Here's a good article explaining the differences:

http://my.webmd.com/content/article/101/105982.htm

Here's a short section:

Here's how the participants described their heart attack symptoms:


Pain, shortness of breath, fatigue. No gender differences
Right-side chest discomfort. 4.7 times more likely to be reported by men
Throat discomfort. 12 times more likely to be reported by women
Discomfort. 2.7 times more likely to be reported by men
Dull ache. 3.9 times more likely to be reported by men
Pressing on the chest. 7.3 times more likely to be reported by women
Vomiting. 3.9 times more likely to be reported by women
Indigestion. 3.7 times more likely to be reported by men

Men were also five times more likely than women to recognize their symptoms as being related to their heart, say the researchers.

[hue]

10. Signs & symptoms of a woman's heart attack

Chest pressure and tightness that lasts more than a few minutes.
Nausea or "upset stomache" For example a woman I just took care of simply thought she had the flu that's going around.
Shortness of breath--unrelieved by anything.
Any pain or discomfort in shoulders, neck or jaw not preceded by movement or relieved by movement.
A sense or feeling that "something's wrong". Some women just say, "I never felt this way before and nothing relieves it".
Impending sense of doom.
Heart palpitations (may not be a heart attack but all arrhythmias should be checked out).
Sudden weakness or "blacking out". For example fainting without warning.
Some "heart attacks" are really fatal heart arrhythmias which are just as deadly as the classical heart attack and need to be checked out. Some fatal heart arrhythmias are caused by a heart attack.
Some women really have no symptoms at all, but I think if they ruminate about it they do feel as if "something is wrong"

[booksenkatz]

12. This is a really stupid question, but

...as an occasional, but regular, user of Ventolin for asthma, I do get arrhythmias from time to time. They only last maybe 3-5 seconds, but it scares the absolute hell out of me until I get a regular beat again. Where might I read more about this phenomenon? How often is it something that should be controlled with medication? My dad has to take medication to control his. I guess it's genetic...? I've heard that fatal clots can form during an arrhythmia, but how could that happen in just a few seconds?

Any input is greatly appreciated. What an informative thread, I will keep this one bookmarked!

EDITED TO ADD, I will be discussing all of this w/my doc during my spring checkup... it's not as if I get my basic medical info and advice from the internet, but I do appreciate whatever info I can get! LOL

[hue]

13. Yes Ventolin can cause your heart to race

Now there are newer and better inhalers that yoour doc may choose for you. You could call him/her and ask to try a newer one--that your doccould evaluate by the time you go for your check up ( you'd want to be using it for awhile as a trial). There are many different kinds of arrhythmias. Some make you more vulnerable to forming clots than others. When you go for your chec up ask for a 12 lead EKG. Yet some arrhythmias come and go quickly and are not recorded during the few seconds it take to do the tracing. Usually the arrhythmia you have from an inhaler is not the kind that clots form from. But its always best to be sure.

[hue]

11. A look at risk factors: inherent and controllable

If any person has a family history of heart disease (especially), is a diabetic, is a smoker,is overweight(obese), and has any of the above symptoms they must be screened for a heart attack.

[ChickMagic]

8. I've worked in coronary research for a long time

and I firmly believe that the only reason heart attacks weren't the #1 killer of women in the past is because they simply didn't know women had them. Now they try to say it's because they're being too "manly" so they now have "manly" illnesses. BS I say.