Heart health should never be taken lightly. Today, there are a number of factors that contribute to people developing stress, anxiety, hypertension, blood pressure, high levels of cholesterol, all which lead to one or the other symptoms of developing heart diseases.

What works for men’s health, does not have to necessarily work for womens health. Often this logic is overlooked which results in symptoms of developing heart diseases being misdiagnosed since the data which is used for diagnosis is sourced from what has been researched for men’s health.

Here are important heart health facts every woman should be aware of:

The severity of symptoms: Heart disease symptoms experienced by women will be more subtle than what men experience during a heart attack. Early signs of a developing attack for women include anxiety which might be coupled with stress. Noticeable signs will include experiencing discomfort in your chest, difficulty in breathing normally, persistent feeling of fatigue, pain below the left shoulder blade among others. Men will have a more dramatic and severe experience of the first signs compared to women, which is why symptoms often go misdiagnosed for women.

Impact of heart problems: Symptoms of the heart attack might be subtle, but the impact is much more severe than what men would normally experience during or after the episode. Health conditions which eventually lead to heart attack will worsen as a person ages thus affecting overall womens health, far more than what men might go through.

Estrogen levels: Estrogen levels in women are high during their childbearing years which keep the cholesterol in check. However, these levels tend to drop after menopause and increases the chances of developing symptoms mainly contributing to increasing levels of bad cholesterol, alternatively known as low-density lipoprotein (LDL).

Size of the heart: Size, in this case, makes a difference since a smaller heart size means smaller artery walls which increase the chances of clogging due to high cholesterol levels. Womens heart muscles are not as strong as the organ in their counterparts which is why womens health is severely affected during and after an episode of a heart attack.

Angina: Angina is a heart condition both men and women experience, which comes and goes depending on the anatomy of the person affected. However, womens angina often gets misdiagnosed for gastrointestinal problems due to the subtle angina attacks, unlike the sudden and dramatic angina attacks men experience.