Mountain View doctors say they are trying to break the stereotype — through classes, public events and patient education — that men are more at risk for heart disease than women.
Cardiologists at Camino Medical Group (now part of Palo Alto Medical Foundation) have been discussing heart risks facing women with other doctors and community members in hopes of spreading the word about symptoms and the importance of exercise.
Neither CMG nor El Camino Hospital has a center specifically for heart disease in women, but doctors and administrators at both facilities agree it is important that women learn about these risk factors and preventive lifestyle changes.
“The most important thing is to educate patients and physicians,” said CMG cardiologist Dr. Jane Lombard. “We are trying to get everyone on board to understand the manifestations.”
The cardiology department at CMG sees an equal amount of men and women, but Lombard said female patients often do not understand the risk factors and signs. Most physicians at the center are now informed about these factors, and Lombard added it is important to educate the community. She will be giving a lecture at the library about women and heart disease at the Mountain View library in May.
Heart attacks, she says, manifest themselves differently in men and women. Women do not always have the commonly known chest pains that travel down the left arm. Instead, they can experience nausea, shortage of breath and profound sweating.
“It has always been there,” Lombard said about female heart problems. “We are just more aware of it; but in the community there is a lot of education to do.”
Women can reduce these risk factors through daily exercise and controlling their blood pressure, and should be aware of the symptoms.
“Women need to take care of themselves, because they will ultimately end up taking care of everyone else,” Lombard said.
February was heart month, and doctors and patients at El Camino Hospital wore red on Women’s Heart Day, Feb. 1. Doctors also have been lecturing about risks and lifestyle changes for women.
“We are constantly bringing it to their attention, and letting women know that heart disease is just as big of an issue for them,” said hospital communications manager Judy Twitchell.
In 2006, El Camino Hospital opened a South Asian Heart Center to reduce coronary artery heart disease among South Asians, who face a four times greater risk of heart-related problems.
E-mail Casey Weiss at cweiss@mv-voice.com
