Statistics show that women have lower rates for heart attacks than men. While lifestyle factors and ability to deal with stress may play a role, studies show that female hormones may also be a determining factor. Researchers from the University of London believe that estrogen may help in preventing heart attacks in women, and other researchers believe that estrogen therapy may help women in certain age ranges.
Risk For Heart Attacks in Men and Women
In Britain, 1 in every 5 men will die from a heart attack. Women, in comparison, have lower rates. Only 1 in every 7 women dies from a heart attack. This has led researchers to find out what accounts for the difference.
Statistics show that women have lower rates of heart attacks, in comparison to men, as long as they haven’t yet reached a menopausal age. Once they reach menopause, their rates for heart attacks even out with men. Many researchers have begun to speculate that this happens because menopause causes estrogen levels to drop, causing women to be more vulnerable to heart attacks.
The researchers from University of London have found that estrogen is able to keep blood cells from attaching onto the artery walls and causing potentially fatal blockages.
Estrogen Therapy May Be Safe in Some Conditions
Some doctors are hesitant to put women on hormone therapy that increases their estrogen counts. While this may help reduce the risk of heart attacks, increasing estrogen has also been known to increase the risk for breast cancer.
A study called Women’s Health Initiative, and whose findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggest that estrogen therapy is safe under certain conditions.
Previous hormone therapy included the use of both estrogen and progestin, but the therapy seemingly increased the risk for breast cancer. To prove that estrogen therapy is safe, the researchers looked at over 10,000 women. They found that using only estrogen, without progestin as therapy, might be safe in certain conditions.
The women in the study were divided into 2 groups. One group took only estrogen, and another that took a placebo. None of the women knew which group they belonged to.
During the 11-year study, they found that the women taking estrogen had 23% decreased risk for breast cancer, while the control group had experienced higher risk levels.
Age Matters in Estrogen Therapy
While estrogen only therapy seemed safe, it was only so for certain age groups. They found that women in their 50s benefited the most from estrogen therapy. For every 10,000 women on estrogen therapy in their 50s, they predicted that they could prevent 12 heart attacks and 13 deaths. This is in comparison to women that received no treatment.
However, once women reached their 70s, the benefits of the therapy changed. If women in their 70s took estrogen, than for every 10,000 women, there would be 16 more heart attacks and 19 more deaths.
Sources:
Women and Risk for Heart Attack: Estrogen
Women and Risk for Heart Attack: Estrogen Therapy
Women and Risk for Heart Attack: Other Factors to Decrease Risk