UAMS Nursing Researcher Explores Heart Attacks in Women

Heart Attacks Remain Top Health Threat to Women
06-13-02 (Little Rock) Many women don't consider heart disease a "woman's disease," perhaps because of the relatively greater awareness and dread of cancer of the breast, cervix, and ovaries. Some women believe their doctors don't take their initial cardiac complaints seriously. Yet according to government statistics, one in 10 American women between the ages of 45 and 64 has some form of heart disease. At age 65, the ratio increases to one in four. About 250,000 women in the U.S. die of heart disease each year. Heart disease - not cancer, as many erroneously believe - is the leading cause of death in women in the United States and in Arkansas.

Jean C. McSweeney, Ph.D., RN, recently reported [April, 2002] to a national conference sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute that women may experience warning signs of heart disease for an average of four to six months before they experience their heart attack. The majority of the women in her studies recalled having early symptoms before the actual heart attack.

These findings emerged from interviews conducted by Dr. McSweeney between September 1999 and December 2001 with 647 women who had heart attacks. The women were seen at medical centers in Little Rock, Arkansas; Columbus, Ohio; and Greenville, North Carolina. 

The most common symptoms of heart disease reported by black and white women alike in McSweeney's study included unusual fatigue, sleep disturbance, shortness of breath, indigestion and anxiety. However, blacks reported these and other symptoms, such as frequent headaches, vision changes, appetite changes, aching arms and heart racing episodes, more often and with greater intensity than whites. 

McSweeney noted that "Black women had more risk factors and more co-existing illnesses, and that may account for some of the differences. With further investigation, we'll find out if there are other factors." She hopes to find out how important the symptoms are as a predictive factor by someday extending her research to include interviews with women who have not yet had a heart attack but may be at risk for one.

Many women sent personal accounts to Dr McSweeney after reading about her study. One woman who experienced warning signs well in advance of her heart attack believed her early symptoms were not taken seriously by her physician. Speaking on condition of anonymity, Mrs. S. said, "Doctors believe that heart disease is a 'man's disease.' Just knowing the warning signs will not help us unless our doctors see us as a patient and not as women. We need to train the doctors ... then maybe we will be able to bring down the number of heart attacks killing women every year." McSweeney hopes her research will assist health professionals and women to recognize these early warning symptoms so that early treatment may be initiated and possibly help prevent or delay heart attacks in women.

Funded by federal grants from the National Institute of Nursing Research, the McSweeney's two studies will continue for another two years and eventually include equal numbers of white, black and Hispanic women. Future recruitment locales will include women living in California, Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina and Texas. 

McSweeney is a professor and researcher in the College of Nursing at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock.

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For more information, click on these Web links:

Heart Disease in Women (sound bite): 
http://www.uams.edu/htyh/0301/heartdisease.htm
UAMS College of Nursing:
http://nursing.uams.edu/
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: 
http://hin.nhlbi.nih.gov/cvh2002/
Study:
http://www.uams.edu/research/Articles/2001.21.htm

PR Contact:    
Mike H. Mottler, Director
University Relations                              
Phone:  501-686-6270  
Fax:      501-686-5067 
E-mail:  mottlermikeh@uams.edu   

Content Contact:
Jean C. McSweeney, Ph.D., RN
UAMS College of Nursing
Phone:  501-296-1982

03/30/07